#fightingforeric

Hi everyone,

I never thought I'd be in the position where I'd have to make one of these. But I also never thought my husband would be diagnosed with cancer at just 25 years old.

On April 8, 2015 Eric woke up complaining of blurry vision in his right eye. He figured he must have something stuck in it or somehow scratched it while he was sleeping. However, it continued to stay blurry throughout the day and by the evening he was concerned enough that he said we should go to the urgent care. He saw a Dr at the urgent care who diagnosed him with a detached retina and immediately sent us to the ER. At the ER there was little they said they could do for him that night and they set him up with an appointment the next morning to see an ophthalmologist. So the next morning we went to his appointment and the Dr could not say for sure what the issue was (though he did recognize that there was something wrong), and decided it was best to send us immediately to a retina specialist. So we got to this new Dr's office and were seen immediately. He took one look at Eric's eye and knew exactly what was wrong. He did some tests and took some photos of his eye to be sure and show us what he could see. Bascially, Eric had a large hemorrhage in the direct center of his eye, which was why everything was blurry. He asked Eric if he'd recently lost a lot of weight without really trying and if he'd been feeling tired as of late (both were true). Eric also mentioned some weird bruises that he had found but just attributed to most likely happening at work or playing hockey. He recommended Eric see a hematologist the following day because he was positive he had some kind of blood disorder. So on Friday, April 10, Eric and his mom went to his appointment. They ran his blood panel 3 times to be sure. But ultimately they diagnosed him with leukemia. His white blood count was above 400,000 (normal is roughly 4,000 - 10,000). He was told that he needed to be checked into the hopsital immediately to start treatment. The hematologist called a few cancer hospitals trying to find a bed for him. Cedars Sinai was the first hospital to call back. So that night we made our way to Los Angeles not knowing what was in store.

Fortunately, we got a lot of good news the 5 days he was in the hospital. Originally they thought it was Acute Myeloid Leukemia, which would entail a bond marrow transplant, aggressive chemo, etc... However, he was ultimately diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). Which they said is basically the most treatable type of cancer there is. The course of treatment would be to take a 'chemo type' pill everyday (probably for the rest of his life) and continue to follow up with his Dr with blood tests, appointments, etc. to make sure everything is going smoothly.

Over the past 4 months there have definitely been ups and downs. The support we have received from everyone has been amazing. Currently his numbers are almost back to normal and his Dr has said that he is "on the road to remission." Which we are so blessed and thankful for. However, the reality is that he is still unable to work because of the nauseousness and the effects that the medicine is having on his body. One day he can feel completely normal and the next day he can barely get out of bed. Our parents and families have been more than gracious in helping us out financially and for that we could never repay them enough, but we also know that they cannot continue to help us forever. I know eventually some hospital bills will start to show up, there's copays for when he goes to see his Dr, prescriptions to fill, along with everyday expenses (groceries, gas, utility bills, rent, etc). While we are hoping his Dr can figure out a way to effectively treat the nausea and everything so he can get back to work soon (so we can get back to a state of normalcy) the future is still very unknown. #fightingforeric

Thank you!