Niki's Battle with AML

See Niki's Blog at NikiKearns.blogspot.com

Niki Kearns

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2012

spiritual thought from missionaries

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do great and good things. Believe that no mountain is so high that you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. You are not destined to be a scrub. You are a child of god, of infinite capacity. Believe that you can do it whatever it is that you set your heart on. Opportunities will unfold and open before you. The skies will clear when they have been dark with portent... He who is our eternal father has blessed you with miraculous powers of mind and body. He never intended that you should be less than the crowning glory of his creation."
         - Gordon B. Hinckley

One week ago today I found out that I had leukemia.  It truly has been a roller coaster in every way.  I know that this was Heavenly Fathers plan for me and I know there are a million things to be learned from this.  First of all I can't thank all of you for all of your love and support.  It truly means the world to me.   I couldn't get through a minute without you.  There are so many little angels that have been placed in my life to help me get through this and I love you all more than you will ever know.  I have been so blessed so much already. All of your prayers are being heard and Heavenly Father is really watching over me.  I have an amazing family and I know that we will get through this.  I am on my 4th day of chemo and starting to become really tired.  I may have a blood transfusion today. We will see very soon the dr will be here soon.   Day 14 which will be around Halloween we will have a another bone marrow sample to see if I will need another round of chemo or start looking at bone marrow transplants.

I will try to keep everyone posted with how things are going through this blog.  The cell phone service doesn't work well, so I apologize if you don't hear back from me. Some messages aren't coming through.   My direct line is 801-587-4538

I also wanted everyone to have these 2 websites the dr recommend.  He told us this that some info you will find is outdated and not accurate on other websites. So try these:

www.lls.org
www.nci.nih.gov

Thank you again for all your love!  I love you all!

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2012

Chemo Started Today

Here is a little up date on Niki, Chemo has started today it was a lot later then we thought. She was having a heart rate problem that they wanted to get taken care of before, it was going up to around 220. With some meds it is under control. The Chemo she is having is a very aggressive Chemo she is hooked up to one of the Chemo meds for 24hours a day for the next 7 days. Thanks for all the support and love it means a lot to both of us.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

Leukemia AML

Many of you have heard but I want to ask you all to include Niki in your prayers, we found out today that she has leukemia (aml). Niki I love you so much and want you to know that we will fight through this together.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012

Leukemia

Leukemia is cancer that starts in the tissue that forms blood cells (called bone marrow). Blood cells develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. These stem cells mature into specialized blood cells.

• White blood cells help fight infection. There are several types of white blood cells.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues throughout the body.
• Platelets help form blood clots that control bleeding.

Different types of white blood cells develop in the bone marrow. A stem cell matures into either a myeloid stem cell or a lymphoid stem cell.

• A myeloid stem cell matures into a myeloid blast. The blast can form a red blood cell, platelets, or one of several types of white blood cells.
• A lymphoid stem cell matures into a lymphoid blast. The blast can form one of several types of white blood cells, such as B cells or T cells.

Leukemia occurs when the bone marrow makes large numbers of abnormal white blood cells. As the number of abnormal cells increases in the blood and bone marrow, there is less room for healthy cells.

Types of Leukemia

The types of leukemia can be grouped based on how quickly the disease develops and worsens. Leukemia is either chronic (develops slowly) or acute (develops quickly):

• Chronic leukemia: There may not be any symptoms at first, because the leukemia cells can still do some work of normal white blood cells early in the disease. Doctors often find chronic leukemia during a routine checkup before there are any symptoms.
• Acute leukemia: The leukemia cells can't do any work of normal white blood cells. The number of leukemia cells increases rapidly, and the disease usually worsens quickly.

There are four common types of leukemia:

• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): CLL affects lymphocytes (cells of the lymphatic system) and usually grows slowly. It accounts for more than 15,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It is most often diagnosed in people over age 55. It is very rare in children.
• Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML): CML affects myeloid cells and usually grows slowly at first. It accounts for nearly 5,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It mainly affects adults.
• Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL): ALL affects lymphocytes and grows quickly. It accounts for more than 5,000 new cases of leukemia each year. ALL is the most common type of leukemia in children. It also affects adults.
• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): AML affects myeloid cells and grows quickly. It accounts for more than 13,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It occurs in both adults and children.