Inspiration 3

When we first came to the clinic I noticed a person just walking like she had somewhere to go and get there fast. She was wearing street clothes, not jammies. She had a mask, protective fashion wear, and no hair. I glanced up to see what was approaching so fast...was it a doctor, nurse, patient? Being new to the whole experience, I didn't want to stare, so I looked away for a moment. When my eyes came back up...she was gone! Where did she go, who was it? I don't know, "Flash" maybe? This same scenario happened again that first week.

On the day before Carla's discharge, our case worker Gayle had found someone we could talk to about treatment. This patient was going home that day for a few days of recovery before coming back for another week of treatment. A few hours later, she came into Carla's room; vibrant, determined, with purpose. Her name is Lisa.

It was her! Flash! "I've seen you," I said. She said, "Keep Movin', that's how you get out of here." She went on to say how good Carla looked, her color, her mobility, her health. We exchanged stories.

Sandi, Carla, Lisa

Lisa said "Leukemia was the best thing that every happened to me." She feels now that she has purpose, motivation, needs to make a difference, taking this time now to define who she is and what she wants to be. I never lost eye contact with her. Lisa spoke to my soul which was already on the same wavelength, amplifying my passion 10 fold.

She told Carla, "You are saving lives." Carla's unique presentation of leukemia is giving doctors another look at how to treat people in the future. She not only gave us inspiration, she provided us the means to provide inspiration.

Status: Carla is approaching the timeframe where we should be seeing her bone marrow kick on and to start making her own blood cells. Her next blood test tomorrow should tell if this process has started. She did receive platelets and no blood today, so we have a good baseline for Reds and Whites tomorrow.

Thank you Raines family for bringing soup. Nothing like homemade chicken noodle soup to warm the soul. I think I just plagiarized. And " Thanks" to the Davis family for the bread and gifts to our girls.