My Mom

As a healthy fifty-one year old woman, we were shocked to find out that Tammy, my mom, has acute myeloid leukemia. She started getting sick at the end of January and just kept on getting rapidly worse. One night something urged her to get out of bed and go to the hospital. Because of this decision, she is alive today and her journey to recovery began. That Tuesday night became early Wednesday morning and by 9:00 a.m. that morning, Tammy was on a ventilator, diagnosed with double pneumonia, influenza A and leukemia (confirmed by a bone marrow biopsy taken while she was on the ventilator). The Alegent doctors and nurses provided Tammy with impeccable care and helped her recover to a point where she was able to start chemotherapy that following Monday. I think to Tammy, chemotherapy felt like a breeze compared to all she had been through. With wonderful care, medical expertise, a strong-willed patient and some higher power, Tammy is now in remission. She has follow-up chemo while they search for a donor match. She will be getting her bone marrow transplant in Seattle and spending four months at the University of Washington because they are not only the best but they pioneered the allogeneic bone marrow transplant procedure. We look forward to spending many more years with her because to many of us she is much more than a mother, a best friend and a role model. She is an incredible woman and we appreciate your support that will help save our loved one’s life.