Last year, around the 1st of the year, I thought I had the flu.
I wrestled with it for over a month…went to urgent care a couple of times for antibiotics …all the while feeling more and more fatigued.
Until one day I was so weak I couldn’t make it to the car to get to the ER.
So my wife had to call an ambulance.
While at the ER, I received a lot of fluids and a lot of blood and that put me in distress. They called it heart failure.
I almost didn’t make it.
I could barely catch my breath and the Doctors were even preparing my wife for “Destiny”.
But I guess the good Lord had other plans.
They finally got me stabilized and that’s when they delivered the news.
“You have AML leukemia”
(here is a lesson for everyone who avoids doctors like i did....a simple blood test a few weeks earlier at an urgent care might have revealed this and prevented the heart failure)
So I got transferred to Emory Hospital in Atlanta and started chemotherapy in preparation for a bone marrow transplant.
Fortunately , I responded well to the chemo and got into remission at Emory.
My Doctor at Emory overheard my family discussing our plans to move to St Augustine FL and offered to refer us to Mayo in Jacksonville FL so we could move on with our lives so that is exactly what we did.
That meant my wife and I, my youngest son and his wife, my Daughter and her husband, all sold our homes in GA and moved our business to a warehouse space St Augustine.
And we are loving it.
I received my bone marrow transplant about 140 days ago now and I am still undergoing some maintenance chemo.
It has been quite a challenging year but I am doing very well now.
I am not 100% yet but I am working on building my stamina with exercise and good food.
My wife and family have been amazing.
They have taken great care of me and I am so thankful for them.
So what’s next for me? Should I just retire and go fishing?
No says I.
I will definitely do some fishing...
I still feel like I have a lot of gas left in the tank. But my current circumstances require a pivot.
I believe the way I can best serve the welding community is with collaborations with other welders, instructors and welding business owners in the way of videos and podcasts.
I already have a bunch of guests in mind that I know will deliver some of the best welding information ever shared.
Stay tuned welder,
Jody
