It started with tiredness. In Aina’s (not her real name) case, the phrase dragging yourself out of bed was very apt as her whole body felt heavy and exhausted.

Then by noon, her eyelids would get heavy and she was exhausted again. Once home she would sit on the sofa and often fall asleep.

This was in May. By June, she made the decision to visit the GP. Her GP arranged for blood tests and when she returned to see him, he said her white cell count was slightly raised. He arranged for the blood tests to be repeated.

The following weekend she had a cold and a bad chest. Within 24 hours she felt horrendous, so weak and poorly, and was treated for a chest infection and sinusitis. It was like her immune system was weakened somewhat.

As the blood results hadn’t changed, her GP referred her to a haematologist who arranged for more tests and an ultrasound on her spleen.

The doctor said it would be six to eight weeks before she secured the ultrasound appointment and Aina could see him again to discuss the results after that.

Aina suspected she had leukaemia. She had already been Googling the topic, even though she knew it was the worst thing in the world to do.

She didn’t discuss any of this with her husband. She bought a jotter and pen and did lots of mindfulness activities.

She read Fearn Cotton’s book “Happy” and worked through the activities. She was mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

A week later, on a Monday, she received a call to go to the hospital on Wednesday to discuss her results.

Before that, Aina broke the news to her husband Manaf, (not his real name). He accepted the news stoically, hugged her and said she had his total support.

So, when the day came, Aina and Manaf left at 11am for the appointment.

The time between receiving the call on Monday and going for the appointment on Wednesday was like an out of body experience for her. She couldn’t concentrate, nor could she sleep.

It wasn’t until they looked at the sign next to the lift that they realised her appointment was actually at the chemotherapy ward. No words were needed between Manaf and her.

The consultant told her that she had Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, (CML) and he went on to explain what it was. She heard the word leukaemia and was devastated.

The consultant reassured her about recent advancements in the drugs used to treat CML. Her specialist nurse spent time with them both, answering their many questions.

They left the hospital with an information pack and made an appointment for a bone marrow biopsy two days later.

The biopsy wasn’t too unpleasant but had to be done. A nurse held her hand and Aina talked non-stop to get through it. She was prescribed with a Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor called Imatinib, a chemotherapy drug which she started taking the day after.

Reading that Imatinib could cause joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue made her heart sink. She couldn’t imagine how she was going to mentally cope with the cancer diagnosis and the side effects of the treatment.

She went for blood tests weekly. She thought about how her children, husband, parents, family and friends had rallied around her.

Even her specialist nurse was amazing and gave her moral support and encouraging advice during each follow-up visit.

The Imatinib has given her some joint pains and caused fatigue. She hasn’t worked since her diagnosis and has learnt to take things one day at a time. It is still early days and she is trying to be kind to herself.

Her three-month check-up was very positive. The drug is working and has successfully reduced the number of leukaemia cells in her blood.

That makes her side effects easier to cope with because she knows her leukaemia is slowly getting cured.

Aina is blessed to have an amazing family as well as great friends around her. She has reached out to local support groups and likes being with others who understand what she’s going through.

These groups have been uplifting and provided the strong support she needed at her moment of need.

Aina’s advice is direct and to the point – you know your own body well. If something doesn’t feel right, get it checked by your doctor. When treated early, the prognosis is usually excellent.

TELEME Healing Life Stories is a collection of inspirational stories of how ordinary people triumph over their health conditions and recover to lead a healthier life after that.

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