Friends, it’s time. We didn’t expect it this soon, but hey, we’re gonna roll with it. R recently underwent another bone marrow biopsy, which revealed that he has developed a new gene mutation called NRAS. Studies show this mutation means that Acute Myeloid Leukemia is around the corner. He has another mutation, called ASXL1, which further exacerbates the seriousness of his situation. Once a Myeloid Fibrosis patient acquires Acute Myeloid Leukemia, the outlook is extremely dire, with nearly no chance of recovery.

So, we’ve flipped the switch, and R is now engaged in the process of having the bone marrow stem cell transplant. We have to do this BEFORE AML develops.

Getting ready for the transplant involves many steps. For now, we have an appointment on the calendar to meet with the transplant doc, who will answer many of our questions. Best guess is the transplant will occur anywhere between August and October, but because of R’s newly acquired mutation, she may speed things up.

I am now using chtGPT to do my research (thanks to a good friend who told me about it). It’s amazing and so far, accurate in all the things I want to know (but of course, also discussed with our cancer specialist). The transplant itself is easy, but what comes after can be hard to work through. R will be out of commission for a while, unable to see visitors or receive flowers because his immune system will be at zero until the new stem cells fully engraft.

Anyway, I’ll continue posting as we wade our way through together. We’ve got this!