On March 21, 2022, I celebrated my 20-year cancer survivorversary at age 25.
Unfortunately, when I went into the hospital for a preventative surgery in November, my blood counts had dropped so low that the doctors couldn't operate. They were worried I would bleed to death or have a stroke.
They told me: "We could probably save you if you were in a car accident, but we can't risk BEING the car accident."
They didn't know what was wrong, so I had to come back to the hospital the next week to get tested for leukemia, lymphoma, MDS, PNH and aplastic anemia.
I walked up the registration desk, anxious to get the bone marrow biopsy over with. The woman looked from the table and said, "Good morning, Ms. Morrison, that will be $1,000."
$1,000 out of pocket to find out if I had leukemia.
More than anything else, that's the moment I can't get out of my mind. What if this had happened to me four years ago when I was unemployed? What if I was a single mom deciding whether to buy this test for herself or pay rent to keep her and her kids in their home?
Our country doesn't have to force people to make those kinds of decisions. We choose to.
I'll be in and out of the hospital for a lot of this year, but I'm okay. After months of tests (and a few thousand more dollars) I was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, which is still severe, but not quite as bad as a cancer relapse. What matters to me is that I use what I've gone through to help other people who can't come up with $1,000 for the test, or who feel alone.
Gilda's Club makes sure no one faces cancer alone. They are also expanding into West Louisville, Lexington, Paducah and Southern Indiana to serve more families, and they are launching a financial assistance program to help patients facing astronomical medical bills. They are truly making a difference...please help me support them this year as I go Over the Edge!