Full story

For the last couple of years I’ve been feeling off, but this summer things went from “meh” to “what the hell.” I chalked it up to bad sleep and too much coffee — until the fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, and returning kidney-stone pain got unbelievably real.

After FanX I got progressively worse. My doctor tried antibiotics, which apparently weren’t the villain we were looking for. The kidney stones woke up, the weakness kept getting louder, and on 11/18/25 we ended up in the ER. I was admitted with severe anemia and needed a blood transfusion — fun party trick, not recommended.

The hospital did the full investigative tour (including a bone-marrow biopsy and a hip bone sample — yes, they actually took a piece of bone), and a few days later the diagnosis arrived: CMML — chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. It’s a rare form of leukemia, usually something doctors see in septuagenarians, not someone my age. So that was a surprise.

The tentative plan: rounds of chemo (intensive cycles — five days on, three weeks off) for several months to knock down the cancer cells, followed by a bone-marrow transplant. I meet a transplant specialist and get more specifics on 12/2. Until then it’s a lot of waiting, testing, and trying not to spiral into catastrophic Googling.

On top of the medical stuff, my living situation needs attention: we need to find a rental and sell our house, because we can’t sustain where we are through this. Moving, storage, and the usual “life keeps eating money” costs are looming while medical bills stack up.

Why I’m asking for help

Medical bills and treatments (chemo, transfusions, tests, specialist consults).

Bone-marrow transplant costs and related travel/stay expenses.

Moving and temporary housing while we sell the house and get set up in a more manageable place.

Everyday bills while I’m in treatment and not working normally.

If you can contribute, great. If you can’t, please share this with people who might be able to help. And if humor is your thing, send funny memes — laughter is free and I’ll take all of it.

I’ll post updates after my 12/2 specialist visit and whenever there’s big news. Thank you for reading, for sharing, and for helping us stay afloat while we fight this thing.

With surprising amounts of gratitude (and Mountain Dew),

Kapi