Category: cancer
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That’s how this works
This day last year, Ramón walked out of our house for the last time. In the days leading up to his transplant admission, he spent more time than usual loving on the dogs. He assured them how much he loved them and said what I deemed—even at the time—to be his final goodbyes. It was…
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Sealed with an X
In the fifth year of marriage, I’d finally gotten the hang of identifying as “married” after never having envisioned that for myself. Now I find myself checking another box. It took a fraction of a second to create that X, yet the route that it signifies spanned almost 9 years. Sealed with an X.
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Day ???
Many of you have followed our story and its constant ups and downs, particularly since Ramón’s chemo/radiation/transplant complication-induced cardiac arrest on April 19, 2020. Though it felt like we’d finally settled into an “up” after a tumultuous three months, Ramón died yesterday at 10:52 a.m. Things were going well [enough] until suddenly they weren’t. A…
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Day +100: Now we’re here
Holy Day +100 since Ramón’s transplant! Exactly 100 days ago, on April 10, Ramón received his stem cell transplant. From 11:25 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. ET, we quietly watched YuSun’s stem cells slowly assume residence in Ramón’s body, ready to evict his leukemia once and for all. I’d heard about the coveted Day +100, and…
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Day +93 (today): Hospital Day 100 (yesterday)
Today is day +93 since transplant, and yesterday was Ramón’s 100th consecutive day in the hospital. Though each individual day has felt exhaustively long, the days have merged together in a way that seems like no time has passed. Despite all the twists and turns that led us here, it was a good day. Some…
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Day +83: Let non-freedom ring
“I’m not going to wear my ring, okay?” I remember Ramón asking that as we did one last sweep of the house before departing for the hospital on April 3. Now, 90 days later, Ramón’s left hand remains ringless; instead he’s wearing a pulse oximeter. Above his wrist, there’s a peripheral IV. Above that, there’s…
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Day +79: inTENSE
I awoke this morning with a joyous heart, knowing that Ramón is waking up in a regular hospital room; he escaped the ICU! He required some ventilator support the past few weeks to rest his lungs, but he built his way back up to breathing on his own. Ramón successfully completed a 24-hour breathing trial…
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Day +76: Mashed potatoes
This morning, day +76, while walking the dogs, my mom turned to me and asked, “Did I tell you about the dream where I was feeding Ramón mashed potatoes? He loved them.” Without hesitation, I responded, “Aww, that makes me happy.” Now, reflecting on our exchange, it’s interesting that my first response was one of…
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Day +67: Smoother waters
It’s day +67 since Ramón’s transplant. Given that the first 100 days are critical, it’s relieving to know we’re two-thirds of the way through the hard part of the transplant process. We received test results today confirming that Ramón has no evidence of disease, and his sister’s cells are still 100% running the show. These…
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Thank you, Atlanta Braves
Day +54: Keep swinging – June 3, 2020 You know when you’re just staring at the computer screen, deciding what to say to Hank Aaron? Do you not know that feeling? Because I do! Tonight, Hammerin’ Hank took the time to email us after becoming aware of our story. I was born a Braves fan,…
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Day +46: Life is hard.
The past several weeks have been, without a doubt, the most difficult time of my life. Each day, I have been hopeful that Ramón’s status would change enough to dramatically alter the nature of my update. But it hasn’t, so here goes. On April 19, nine days after his stem cell transplant, an infection caused…
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Raise a __ for Ramón
Happy almost birthday to this guy! It’s the night before Ramón’s birthday, which means it’s also the eve of the one-year mark since his leukemia diagnosis. Ramón remains in the ICU, but he should be coming off all sedation in the very near future. Ramón’s newly acquired immune system is working well so far, and…
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Days +12, 15, and 18
Day +12: A turtle’s pace – April 22, 2020 Though time has been moving at the speed of molasses, it’s moving, and that’s the most important part of this process. The testing they’ve been able to do while Ramón is sedated and intubated all looks quite positive. Until they can fully wake him, though, there…
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Day +9: Cloud not-so-nine
Today has been, by far, the scariest day of my life. This morning, at about 5:25, Ramón lost his airway, most likely due to swelling caused by an infection or allergic reaction. He went into cardiac arrest and ultimately had to be resuscitated. During the process, Ramón had to be intubated. He is now sedated…
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Days +5 to +8
Day +5: Window of opportunity – April 15, 2020 It’s been a while since I’ve said this, but we had a good day! Though we’ve had glimpses throughout the days, I can officially say that today, as a whole, was good. The highlights include fewer bouts of extreme hiccups, being fever free the entire day,…