FIGHTING TO LIVE
Donation protected
Welcome to my journey
My name is Dereka Mason. I was diagnosed with CML (Cronic Myelogenous Leukemia) Nov 2002. I was scheduled for a dentist appointment, which led me to get lab work done. When I reached home that day, my friend who was babysitting my son who was almost 1 yrs old at the time, she stated that the Doctor's office called and said it was an emergency. I never in a million years would think that the news I found out would happen to me. I was twenty years old, with a brand new baby boy. Before all of this happened, I had plans on having a career, traveling, raising a family and being the best mom I could be to my son, despite of being a very young mother my goal was to improve our lives and strive for the best. My life was at a halt when my Doctor informed me that the only cure for Leukemia was a bone marrow transplant. I had no idea what that was, I was oblivious to everything, it was all foreign to me. I was put on the Donors List, and I waited and waited while trying to come to grips with the fact that I could loose my life. Upon waiting, I was was put on a medication called Gleevac which is a (TKI). TKI's are therapy's for CML patients, to help keep your Leukemia controlled, but not cured. They come in pill forms. I just started taking classes up at College when not even a month went by that I received the call from the hospital, telling me that they found me a donor. I went through the process in order to get the transplant done and it was scheduled for March 2004. I was very scared because I knew there was a possibility that I might not make it, I didn't know what to expect all I knew was that I did not want my son to be without a mother. I went into the hospital on March 5, and received my first round of Chemotherapy for 5 days they had to knock my immune system completely out before receiving the donors marrow. Everything after that was a blur. I was hit with extremely high fevers, platelet issues, etc. The doctors told my mom to prepare for the worse. But one day I woke up in my hospital room and asked to go to the bathroom. I didn't know why everybody was so excited, I had no clue that I was near death. I stayed in the hospital for a while after that, being nursed back to health. I was only able to see my son one time while being admitted to the hospital. I was back and forth and in and out of the hospital for a little over a year. In addition I had one year to wait and see if the my cells accepted or rejected the donors cells. After all the crucial ups and downs that year, my cells rejected the donors cells. My Leukemia started growing again. I was DEVASTATED! Why? I went through all of that for it not to work? My doctor wanted me to weigh the pros and cons again for getting another Transplant. I said no, I didn't want to go through that again, I thought I would surely die. So I was put back on Gleevac, which held me over for some years and then my body became immune to it and it stop working for me. After that I was put on one TKI after another. I'm 35 yrs old and throughout this whole ordeal, I tried my best to be the best mother I could be. I worked, took my medication, and tried to live my life through it all. Now they don't have anymore TKI's for me . No pill, no therapy, nothing that can hold me over. They want to perform another Bone Marrow Transplant on me. I'm not gonna say that I don't want to receive the one thing that could save my life. But in retrospect I'm afraid to receive what could also kill me. There's other alternatives out there, that have nothing to do with the medical field, and I want to give it a shot. These alternatives cost thousands of dollars and I need your help with trying to make my mark. I thank you all in advance for your love and support in aiding my while
I'M FIGHTING TO LIVE!!!
My name is Dereka Mason. I was diagnosed with CML (Cronic Myelogenous Leukemia) Nov 2002. I was scheduled for a dentist appointment, which led me to get lab work done. When I reached home that day, my friend who was babysitting my son who was almost 1 yrs old at the time, she stated that the Doctor's office called and said it was an emergency. I never in a million years would think that the news I found out would happen to me. I was twenty years old, with a brand new baby boy. Before all of this happened, I had plans on having a career, traveling, raising a family and being the best mom I could be to my son, despite of being a very young mother my goal was to improve our lives and strive for the best. My life was at a halt when my Doctor informed me that the only cure for Leukemia was a bone marrow transplant. I had no idea what that was, I was oblivious to everything, it was all foreign to me. I was put on the Donors List, and I waited and waited while trying to come to grips with the fact that I could loose my life. Upon waiting, I was was put on a medication called Gleevac which is a (TKI). TKI's are therapy's for CML patients, to help keep your Leukemia controlled, but not cured. They come in pill forms. I just started taking classes up at College when not even a month went by that I received the call from the hospital, telling me that they found me a donor. I went through the process in order to get the transplant done and it was scheduled for March 2004. I was very scared because I knew there was a possibility that I might not make it, I didn't know what to expect all I knew was that I did not want my son to be without a mother. I went into the hospital on March 5, and received my first round of Chemotherapy for 5 days they had to knock my immune system completely out before receiving the donors marrow. Everything after that was a blur. I was hit with extremely high fevers, platelet issues, etc. The doctors told my mom to prepare for the worse. But one day I woke up in my hospital room and asked to go to the bathroom. I didn't know why everybody was so excited, I had no clue that I was near death. I stayed in the hospital for a while after that, being nursed back to health. I was only able to see my son one time while being admitted to the hospital. I was back and forth and in and out of the hospital for a little over a year. In addition I had one year to wait and see if the my cells accepted or rejected the donors cells. After all the crucial ups and downs that year, my cells rejected the donors cells. My Leukemia started growing again. I was DEVASTATED! Why? I went through all of that for it not to work? My doctor wanted me to weigh the pros and cons again for getting another Transplant. I said no, I didn't want to go through that again, I thought I would surely die. So I was put back on Gleevac, which held me over for some years and then my body became immune to it and it stop working for me. After that I was put on one TKI after another. I'm 35 yrs old and throughout this whole ordeal, I tried my best to be the best mother I could be. I worked, took my medication, and tried to live my life through it all. Now they don't have anymore TKI's for me . No pill, no therapy, nothing that can hold me over. They want to perform another Bone Marrow Transplant on me. I'm not gonna say that I don't want to receive the one thing that could save my life. But in retrospect I'm afraid to receive what could also kill me. There's other alternatives out there, that have nothing to do with the medical field, and I want to give it a shot. These alternatives cost thousands of dollars and I need your help with trying to make my mark. I thank you all in advance for your love and support in aiding my while
I'M FIGHTING TO LIVE!!!
Organizer
Dereka Mason
Organizer
Upper Darby, PA
