Irony

I was just doing an internet search of this blog to see if it would come up in a google search. It did not. Instead, one of my hits was for an article on research I conducted for my dissertation. Here is the link. It shows a picture of me in 2001, 5 years prior to diagnosis working with a leukemia patient. I know I have mentioned the ironies in my diagnosis in the past, but this picture really hit home. I remember working with this boy every time he came in for his treatment. He had a different form of leukemia which required ongoing chemotherapy. He would get so nervous about having the needles inserted, so I would distract him using a virtual reality system during the procedure. It worked so well for him that he would sometimes not realize when the nurses were done. I still use virtual reality, but now I use it to treat people who are afraid to fly, speak in public, or heights.

Sometimes I wonder if there is a reason I have leukemia. Othertimes I think it is just bad luck. Either way, I still have to deal with it. I am lucky to have an easy treatment and great support around me. Hopefully, I will never need distraction like that boy did in my study. Although, I do have a bone marrow biopsy coming up next month. Something to look forward to.