I’m Jeanie and I am trying to keep my life together.
This blog is to tell the story of the last seven years of my life as well as be a record of the life I am currently living and the one I hope to have in the future. It all started with an apartment fire in the fall of 2002, which left me with mild-PTSD and a bit of a fire phobia. In rebuilding my world post-fire, I got divorced, went back to college to pursue my dream of being an Optometrist but got severely derailed when my youngest son, age 2.5 at the time, was diagnosed with Leukemia (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, commonly called ALL).
We spent three and a half years in treatments – ranging from daily oral chemo, sedation, spinal taps and surgery. I was a single mom with two young kids, trying to get through college and barely able to work. There was a lot of crying, toughening up, fighting and worries. My eldest son missed school and having a normal childhood and my youngest had his entire reality shifted. We were poor, tired and ragged… but we survived. My son is in remission and has been out of treatment for two long years.
It isn’t over though – it lingers. Cancer changed everything about us… from him developing “trama-induced ADHD” to my mental state and financial worries. When Skeeter first got sick, the hospital gave us two books on the subject, the best one being Childhood Leukemia: A Guide for Families, Friends and Caregivers (3rd Edition)
We aren’t that story – We are alive even though we are still battered and bruised.
My sons are now 9 & 7 years-old and this last seven years has been one heck of a ride but I am share it all here. From my breakdowns to our triumphs – from a wonderful Make-A-Wish trip to the struggle of day-to-day life… I am going to record the past, mark the present and follow into the future.
I hope you enjoy this blog and I hope I can provide something useful for all those other parents out there who can find nothing to guide their way.
