Suspecting Leukemia - at 23 years old?!

I am Michelle, I am 23 years old. I live in Victoria, BC. I've been overall contented with life so far, from growing up in small town Ohio to moving here to live with my love, Amy. I am planning to go back to school next September for Medical Lab Assisting.

But recently things changed. I've been getting sick, and nothing seems to help. It started with stomach pain. Severe, hot-poker-through-the-gut stomach pain. I was in the emergency room for it a few times starting last summer. They never found the cause, and assumed it was ovarian cysts. The stomach pain became bearable after a few months, and I eventually forgot about it as it faded into the background - always there, but not at the forefront of my mind. Then the fatigue and joint pain started. There are days when I can hardly get out of bed because my ankles and knees hurt so bad, or because I am just so tired that I need a little more sleep - and end up sleeping till 2 or 3 in the afternoon or even later. There are days when I am up for a few hours only to go lie down for a nap that ends up being another 5 hour sleep.

And the headaches. The most recent, and most terrible, of the symptoms. Horrible, debilitating migraines that don't go away even with powerful anti-migraine drugs. I have been literally bedridden because of the pain on some days.

Not all days are bad - today is a good day. I have a mild headache and my legs hurt, but my energy levels are close to normal. As close as they get these days.

I never would have suspected, though, what I was told at the walk-in clinic a few weeks ago.

"I'm going to refer you to a hematologist. It may be Leukemia and we need to catch it as soon as possible if it is."

I've been doing research since then. Leukemia, particularly the type I may have (Myelogenous or myeloid Leukemia) is not a pretty thing. We already knew that much...but apparently young adults are likely to get the type I may have. They don't know what causes it. I lead a healthy lifestyle - I eat right, engage in light exercise, never smoked and don't do drugs. I am overweight but that is because I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which makes it hard to lose weight. I have no known risk factors for Leukemia.

But I feel like I may never know at this point - there is a 7 month waitlist for the hematologist. Everything I've read says that at this stage, I probably don't have that long to wait.

But hey, let's stay positive right?

If it's not leukemia, I'll have no reason to keep up this blog and eventually I'll close it. If I do, well, it's in God's hands and I'm sure I'll be taken care of. I've already picked a wig just in case, and I'm going to make plans for the worst while hoping for the best.

I hope anyone out there reading this who is in a similar situation to mine, can find comfort and peace while they play out the waiting game on a final diagnosis. Keep smiling and don't let it get you down. There are good days and bad days in this - I hope your good days outnumber the bad ones!