Not HIP but pelvis

 

photo credit - Otto Norin  - unsplash.com

Welcome to HIP WIVES, a blog from Kristin and Leila, partners for twenty years and living in Louisville, Kentucky. You probably already know this, but no, we aren't hip. But this current chapter of life began with a pain in Leila's hip that didn't respond to physical therapy or tai chi or NSAIDS, etc. It kept getting worse. Before I start way back at the beginning, let me give you an update as of today - October 3, 2022. Today, the big news is retirement, for both Kristin and me. We both left our jobs for at least a year and maybe longer. 

This timing was driven by the hip, but it makes sense on so many levels. Well, except the economy, since high inflation and a tumultuous market are not things that one wants to hear when walking away from the job and regular paycheck. 

Piling onto utter burnout from workload throughout the pandemic came significant hip pain that would not go away. The MRI showed a pelvic fracture along with strange-looking bone marrow in femur, pelvis, and spine. I was referred to hematology, run through the gamut of tests and quickly diagnosed with multiple myeloma, blood plasma cancer. If you want to know more about it, this booklet published by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: Myeloma is a good balance of medical minutia with accessible descriptions and images to help better understand this disease.  

Bottom line: I'm okay. We're okay. I've been getting chemo since the end of May and it hasn't been too horrible, just exhausting. Intermittent testing demonstrates that your prayers, love, and the chemo regimen are having an impact. My treatment plan - as of this moment - is weekly chemo injections through the end of October followed by workup to determine if I am ready for the 2nd phase of treatment, stem cell (or bone marrow) transplant before the end of the year.

Leila 

updated 10.3.22