I made a new friend yesterday. Her name is Cheryl, and she is the first person I’ve ever talked with who also has AL amyloidosis. Cheryl found my blog somewhere (I’ll have to find out where) and contacted me. We have a lot in common besides our dreadful disease. Also, as it turns out, she is an old friend of my doctor at HUP, Dr. Porter. Now how strange is that? I really believe that some people are brought into our lives for a purpose, and Cheryl is definitely one of them. It was so amazing to talk with another woman who knows exactly how I’m feeling (both physically and mentally), what I’m going through now, and what I will have to face in the future. Our medical status is basically the same, and we are going through the same chemo regimens, so we had a lot to talk about. Cheryl is going to begin her stem cell transplant process starting next week, so please say a prayer for my new friend and for her complete and permanent remission.
I also heard from many old (as in long-term, not aged!) friends yesterday. I finally shared my medical condition with my 15 bookclub gal-pals via a group email yesterday. I hadn’t done so yet because I wanted to pretend to be “normal” for as long as possible. But I keep getting sick on Wednesdays--nothing normal about that--and missing bookclub, so I had to ’fess up. (Another confession: a few of them already knew for awhile, due to persistent questioning and my husband's inability to tell white lies.) Since then I have received a tsunami of love and support. This doesn’t surprise me from this group of wonderful women, but it still is heartwarming and very touching. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all you Ladies of the Lakes. You will get me through this mess, I am sure of it.
In the meantime: Cheryl, you go, girl! You are in my thoughts and prayers.
