In modern & modern royal threads, Nycholas’s illness began as a child, when he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, or ALL. He did manage to beat it, but the chemo made things worse, and it developed into Myelodysplatic Syndrome, or MDS, which eventually progresses into the Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML, that will eventually kill him.
Medical info for MDS under the cut.
MDS has no cure, but treatments and meds are intended to slow it, ease symptoms, & prevent complications. These treatments include blood transfusions, supportive care, chemo, radiotherapy, meds, & bone marrow transplants. It can be, and in his case was, caused by previous cancer treatments.
Nycholas’s particular type, MDS with excess blasts of White blood cells & Platelets Type 2, leaves him at a very highly increased risk of AML, which he does get and dies from. This particular type is one of the most likely to turn into AML.
The condition causes Anemia/Refractory Anemia that is difficult to treat, frequent or chronic infections, excessive bleeding, easy bruising, fatigue, fever, AML, bone pain, Thrombocytopenia {low blood platelet count}, Exertional dyspnea {shortness of breath while exercising}, bone marrow failure, Abnormal albumin level {nutrient deficiency or kidney/liver problems}, & skin paleness.
So as most of you know, my dad was diagnosed with Leukemia back in September. He’s since gone into remission, but his specific kind of cancer is infamous for coming back again and again, even after remission. His doctors think his best shot at a permanent cure is a bone marrow transplant. After testing my dad's closest relatives and not finding a perfect match, his doctors turned to the public bone marrow registry to find a donor. They found a donor who is a 100% match, and my dad will be receiving his transplant in early January. There's a long and difficulty recovery process after the transplant itself, but if all goes well, my dad could be recovered, cancer-free, and finished with treatment by early May.
Medical confidentiality laws mean that my father's donor is anonymous, but there's a 36 year old male out there to whom I am grateful beyond words. I’ve been crying all day, because there’s a stranger somewhere out there who is going to give my dad their bone marrow, and they’ll most likely never meet him, and the donation process is difficult and painful, but they’re doing it anyway because human beings can be so deeply, incredibly good to one another.
He’s been moved to a hospital that apparently has one of the best leukemia centers on the east coast, so that’s good
He’s been diagnosed with a form of leukemia that is comparatively treatable. His doctors feel optimistic about his odds, so that’s good
He’s looking at 6 months to a year of intense chemotherapy, which is going to be really, really hard
While he’s undergoing chemo his immune system will be severely compromised, so he’s going to have to be very careful about interacting with the outside world. He’s basically going to have to live like a hermit for a year, which really sucks because he’s an active person who loves seeing movies and going to galleries and museums and eating at restaurants with his friends
He won’t be able to teach until he’s done with treatment, because a school is a breeding ground for germs and when his immune system is compromised even him getting cold would be incredibly dangerous
He had to cancel his upcoming painting show at his gallery, which has really bummed him out
He’s basically feeling really depressed at the prospect of a year on medical house arrest
My brother and I are going to have to visit really frequently while he’s undergoing his treatment. Stuff like grocery shopping will be very hard, if not impossible, for him to do. He’s gonna need a lot of support and we might have to move home or visit every weekend
Basically, it’s gonna be a really, really hard year. The good news is that the doctors are feeling optimistic, so hopefully it will just be one hard year, but it’s gonna suck.
As the sound of the alarm going off pulled her out of her dreams, 20 year old Susan Pevensie groaned. She’d always been an early bird, but she’d had so much trouble waking up lately. Nevertheless, she tossed the blankets aside and got up to turn the beeping off. She made her bed and picked out an outfit before the day before she left her room to see if her suite mates needed the shower. However, it appeared that they all were gone.
Still, Su didn’t mind. They were a nice bunch, she supposed. And she tried to be kind and friendly to them as she was to everyone, but they all knew that she was a last minute addition to their suite because the girl they’d originally had ended up not returning to school this year. Susan supposed she should just be grateful that they’d given her the single room and didn’t ask her to share with any of them.
After taking her shower, getting dressed, doing her hair and make up, and brushing her teeth the young woman sighed. She didn’t have class until that evening, so there were several hours of unclaimed time she needed to fill. Sitting alone in her room was not an option, but she didn’t feel up to eating either. Su could call her family, she supposed. Talk to her brothers and sister and check in on them. But she wasn’t sure she could hide the exhaustion in her voice. Making them worry about her was not something she wanted.
Finally, Susan smiled as she felt her heart being called away. She knew just where to go. Once she’d gathered her keys and put everything she’d need for later into her bag, she left the room and made her way across campus to the music department.
The piano was the one comfort she had left. Without words, she could find a way to express herself. And express herself in a way that would not leave anyone worrying about her. Susan dropped her bag next to the bench of the Grand piano on the stage. Settling herself down, she found that she felt better already. Her slender fingers soon began to dance over the keys as her bright soprano voice sang out.
“There’s a song that’s inside of my soul It’s the one that I’ve tried to write over and over again I’m awake in the infinite cold But you sing to me over and over and over again So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray To be only yours I pray to be only yours I know now you’re my only hope Sing to me of the song of the stars Of your galaxy dancing and laughing And laughing again When it feels like my dreams are so far Sing to me of the plans that you have for me over again And I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray To be only yours I pray to be only yours I know now you’re my only hope I give you my destiny I’m giving you all of me I want your symphony singing in all that I am At the top of my lungs I’m giving it back And I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray To be only yours I pray to be only yours I pray to be only yours I know now you’re my only hope”
