Ali Greengard

I was diagnosed April 6, 2016 with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) from a routine blood test.  I had no symptoms.  AML is highly aggressive so when the blood test results came in, I was pre-admitted to the hospital in utter shock over the news and started treatment immediately including the first of 11 bone marrow biopsies.  The bone marrow biopsy showed I had an acquired FLT3 mutation which is deadly so I knew I had to have a bone marrow stem cell transplant from a donor, which turned out to be my sister.  Long story short, I spent 9 weeks in the hospital total with 5 types of chemo plus the transplant. I have Graft vs Host Disease which is common after a donor stem cell transplant, but I'm alive!  July 6 will be my 9 year transplant birthday.