SDInspires

  When Every Blood Test Felt Like an Exam Result There are seasons in life when every day feels like an examination. For me, the period after my bone marrow transplant was one such season. After my transplant was successful, I was advised to come for review three days every week. Every review day began early. Before 9 in the morning, I had to give my blood sample. After that, I would have my central-line dressing and then wait for the blood test results. Usually, the results would come around 1 P.M. Those few hours felt almost like waiting for an exam result . I would be thinking: Will everything be normal? Will I be able to go home today? Or will I have to stay in the hospital? If all the blood values were normal, I could go home. But if there was any variation or concern, I would have to be admitted. And once admitted, I would not know how many days I would have to stay. The Uncertainty Was Difficult My husband would accompany me for these reviews. At home, my little ...

When the World Sees My Face, God Sees My Heart “She looked at me twice with a different look, and it broke my heart.” Maybe her eyes were saying more than her words ever could. Maybe, in that moment, her eyes were speaking what was in her heart. But who was this person she was looking at? I was standing there with a scarf wrapped around my head and a face mask covering my face. There were only bones covered with skin. My skin had become as dark as coal. I wore a sweater covered with a shawl, one black shoe, spectacles, and had only a few baby hairs growing on my head. My lips had turned almost white, and my face carried scars left behind by the oxygen mask during my Cancer Treatment . I could not even get up from bed or walk without someone—most probably my husband—supporting me. Who would not look back? Who could recognize me? “Mamma, where is your hair?” After almost two and a half months in the hospital, I finally came home. My little son, Isaac, was only two years old. Even...