It was not quite five years ago when I got the word that I had CLL. There I was, a 49-year old guy, who had never been to the doctor for anything more than a physical back in high school. I thought it would be good to see a doctor, since I was approaching 50. I remember thinking that I might as well as get in the habit of going.
So, in August, 2006 I went in for a physical. I had blood drawn, talked with the doctor, and I think I also mentioned that I thought I might be a good candidate for a sleep study. I got the referral for the sleep study and went about my way, figuring I wouldn't be back for another year.
That same day I got a call from the nurse, telling me that the doctor wanted another blood sample from me. I went to the hospital the next morning for the blood draw. I had to go out of town for a couple of days, so I didn't hear any more until I got back. I got the call saying I needed to go back in one more time for a blood draw. That wasn't the end of it. By the middle of the month, I was going in for two more blood draws. It never occurred to me that something was wrong. On Friday, August 18, I got the call.
The call at work came from the doctor. He apologized for the extra blood work he asked for and then said, "You have leukemia." Boom. My white blood count was higher than normal. If I remember correctly, I think my white count was around 18,000. The doctor couldn't believe what he was seeing, so that's why he had me take the additional test. I think we talked for a few more minutes, and he told me he would refer me to Dr. Tarantolo, "one of the best guys in town," he said. He also said he would have the nurse put together some information on leukemia for me. He told me it was CLL, which didn't mean anything to me just then.
After hanging up, it was all I could do to keep it together. I closed the door to my office, sat back down, and the tears poured out of me. Leukemia? How could that be? I didn't think abut asking that question when the doctor called me. So many things crossed my mind. .
There was no time to dwell on the news though. I had to go in for a CT scan the next morning. I'm not sure when I told my relatives. I wasn't married at the time, so I went home to my apartment, and did what every newly-diagnosed patient does. I went to the Internet for information. Nothing jumped out at me to make me feel any better. Probably because I was looking for answers where none really existed. I had leukemia and there wasn't anything I could read on the Internet that would change that.
I got my leukemia material in the mail within a couple of days. I felt a little better about what was happening inside my body after looking over the material in the package. I decided I would wait to tell my family about all of this until I understood it better, which I would have a better shot at after my first appointment with Dr. Tarantolo on August 24.
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