The Journey to Home...

   It is hard to believe that 16 yrs ago today I started on a journey with my best friend and children that continues for myself and them, but saw Dan reach home on Oct. 17,1995. It started on a Tuesday morning, like today...you see Dan had been experiencing some rather strange symptoms for a couple months. As fate would have it, the previous Sunday evening Dan had the responsibility of watching the hospital at Fort Dix. He was in the Air Force stationed at McGuire AFB, N.J. At the time he was a Pharmacy Technician at Walson Hospital on Fort Dix. Part of his duties in the military was to occasionally pull an over night watching the building...so that Sunday was his turn. He had not been feeling well for several months but especially on that particular weekend.
  That previous Friday had also been a landmark day as well....you see I was a nursing student at Holy Family College, now Holy Family University, and the nurses, as well as the nursing students were having a march on Washington DC. Danielle was out of school for the day with "pink eye" and there was no reason for her to spend the day in the house when she could be a part of history being made, so off to Washington DC we were headed with other college friends. Several hours into the trip I received a phone call that Dan had been sent home from work...an unheard of situation in the military. I spoke with Dan and he assured Danielle and me that he would be fine until we got home from our trip which now was changing to a turn-around trip instead of a girls weekend. So we did our part for nurses with the march and returned that evening. Dan was tired as he had been but was resting to be able to do his duty on Sunday.
   As Sunday approached Dan went to his work as he was required, but on Monday morning as he was leaving the hospital he came upon a friend that was a Physicians Assistant at Walson, who just by chance, or as I would call it fate, never entered the facility through the same doors as Dan was leaving but had been off on leave and as he later told me, was ready to make a fresh start so he was entering the facility through that door for the first time that morning....thank you.....You know who you are....
   The conversation was short between the two of them but life changing for all of us...he told Dan as a fellow runner and a friend, "wow man you look like --it, " Dan explained to him that he had been having these vague symptoms, numbness in his jaw, swelling in his legs, and pain with difficulty walking for the past few weeks. He explained that he had been to the dentist and received antibiotics for an infection...no help. He also had seen someone for his back who suggested physical therapy, that had made things only worse and pain meds that did nothing at all but take up the counter space since he had now started a collection of medications. His friend suggested to him that Walson Hospital did not have the resources there at that time to see Dan and he may recommend going to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Rockville, Md for an open clinic with a neurologist. At this time Dan was willing to try anything. That goodness that this was Monday morning and he did not have work and the clinic was on Tuesday, so we only had another day to get through before we would find out what was going on.
   Again as fate would have it, another one of the kids on Monday morning had "pink eye" so now that was two down with only one left to go. Monday was spent resting and getting ready for Tuesday  and the trip to DC. Dan and I decided that since they had all been out with "pink eye" except one of them, we would keep them out of school on that day and all go to Rockville together. We would see the doctor and then spend the rest of the day in DC seeing the sights...so off we go Tuesday morning to see the neurologist.
   I don't know if anyone has ever rode in a car with a woman in labor but that was how the drive from New Jersey to Maryland was for us on that Tuesday morning. Dan did not want to take any pain meds before he was seen by the neurologist, so I am sure it was the longest and most painful 3.5 hour ride of his life. We arrived bright and early ready to be one of the first to see the MD only to find out that patients would be seen in order by military rank....WHAT?????? No triage or severity of symptoms considered. So the long wait began....Dan would not be seen until about 3:30pm and only after passing out because of the pain in the waiting room.
   He was given a thorough neurological examination and in the end the neurologist recommended that he stay over night for further evaluation in the morning. It was now about 530pm and we had not had anything to eat all day, but it seems no one was hungry. I had several calls to make because I was due to work the night shift that night...I was an LPN at the time, doing home care over night for patients. So I called and let them know that I was in Maryland with my husband and would not be at work that evening. We were sent to the floor and yes....the kids were still with us. Our visit to Rockville was now to be our new home for the next few days. This now completed the 1st day of the journey.
   The staff were the best group of professionals that I have had the pleasure of meeting. They soon became a part of our family, as Dan would not leave the hospital until the day he was called home...Oct 17th, 1995. The first night they provided myself and the children a place to sleep and a meal that was greatly appreciated. A long day had ended but others would be longer....
   On Wednesday morning Dan and I were greeted by several new MD's and residents. They came in small groups, all very pleasant and eager to share the information that we requested and even some that we didn't. The first group was the neurologist along with his TEAM, to let us know that several other groups of people would be seeing us today. "We have consulted with Rheumatology and Hematology to see you today." Dan and I were both in the medical field so those words were not new to us...but why these folks...no time for questions. In walks the next group of people and soon Dan would be making a trip to another area of the hospital for a Bone Marrow Aspiration. With kids in tow, we made our way to the next clinic and waiting area. We were accompanied by a young Asian resident (sorry but the name has slipped my mind in the past 16 yrs) but not the face. She was about to have several firsts for her that day. One was doing the bone marrow aspiration herself, and next having to tell a young man (35), his wife and three children (13, 12, and 8)  that his life was in for a huge change. Before 3pm on Wednesday, we had been informed not only that Dan would be staying at the hospital but he was going on a journey to save his life. You see, Dan was diagnosed with ALL-3 and Burkitt's Lymphoma. What the hectic did that mean...he had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and Burkitt's Lymphoma. We had a huge decision to make and little time to decide. He needed treatment immediately but where would he go.
   Bethesda Naval Hospital is across the street from N.I.H.(National Institute of Health) and one of the largest centers for treating all forms of cancer. The choices were limited but easy to make...we would stay at Bethesda and be treated immediately versus going across the street and waiting 2-3 days for an available bed. The team worked quickly and had the regimen ready for Dan that night. We would use the NIH protocol but at Bethesda, the best of both worlds. Back on the floor the news had already spread and the staff was prepared to assist all of us. There was a group of counselors available for both Dan and myself and the children. I am not one for support groups but they knew that we would need them before we would realize it. Nothing like your world crashing in on you in less than 48 hrs....and we both thought we were in control of our lives...another lesson learned...God is in control.....He just lets us think we are in control by letting us in the driver seat.
   Leukemia is a common form of blood cancer (ALL) especially for children but more rare for adults and even more difficult to treat as a result. The team from Hematology were on a search for a treatment that would now treat my husband. Again N.I.H. would be there, they would take their successful treatments for children and adjust the doses for an adult. Dan would receive his first chemotherapy on Wednesday night. So what do we do from here...sit down with the MD's and the children and explain as best as possible what was happening to their dad. Dan and I took the most direct approach...honesty and told the children that dad had Leukemia and would be in the hospital for a while. The doctors were doing everything they could for him and he was going to be okay.....