Richard Herman is a husband and father of three. He was diagnosed with AML Leukemia in 2010. He was 53 at time of diagnosis. 6’2 and 235 lbs.
Read his #StayingSagerStrong story in his owns words here!
RICHARD’S STORY
In October 2009, I noticed a bump on the side of my right knee, the same knee on which I had total reconstruction surgery from a football injury. Thinking it was just something coming from old age, I ignored it, but in December 2009, while throwing a football on the beach in Maui, I felt some discomfort at the site of the bump. I called a cardiologist friend in New York, who said I needed to go to the ER immediately since it could be a blood clot. I went to Maui hospital and had a Doppler x-ray of my knee. There was a blood clot in a superficial vein, it was nothing to worry about, but I should get it checked again when I returned to New York.
I made an appointment in New York for late January 2010 and had another doppler x-ray. My doctor wanted a blood test as well, so I was sent to NYU Cancer Center. The x-ray confirmed the blood clot, so I was put on Coumadin to dissolve the clot and set another blood test for one week later. Unfortunately, during that second test, when there was no coumadin in my system, the doctor said the previous test showed a lab error. I did a third test, and when the results came back 15 minutes later, the doctor called me into his office, had me lie on the table and proceeded to drill a needle into my hip to extract bone marrow and test the bone. He told me it was going to hurt a little, and he wasn’t lying, but when it was finally over, he asked me about my plans for the rest of the day and took my cell number.
I told him I was a lawyer and wanted the 100% truth whatever the test showed, so after personally running my test to the NYU lab, he called me 90 minutes later and said I’m sorry…..you have leukemia. But because I was so special, I had an extremely advanced and fatal strain of AML leukemia with now 15 blood clots in my legs. He also told me in his 39 years of practice, Board certified in four disciplines including oncology, hematology and a Professor of Oncology, he had only seen four cases of my strain of leukemia, and no one lived beyond two weeks. He said there was only one protocol, to bomb my body with the most powerful chemotherapy at the time (Idarubicin), but he advised I would not make it past two weeks. He told me to get my affairs in order and to meet him asap at NYU Hospital to begin my only option, immediate chemotherapy. He also told me once I began chemo, I could never have any children since the chemo burned out the male reproductive system. In my shock, but feeling great since I had no symptoms other than the clot, I told him I would call him the next week after I got a second opinion. He raised his voice and said NO; if I did not meet him at NYU now, I might not even survive through the weekend. I researched AML and spoke to some of my Dr friends at the time and my Dr was right no matter where I went the only protocol was massive chemo. I never got a second opinion. There was no time. I immediately went into the hospital.
The toughest call I made was to my mother, telling her she needed to return from Florida to see me in the hospital because I was dying. After that, I made the equally excruciating calls to my children and my sister. But, I was not crying, I was not scared, I was not “why, oh why me.” I was not afraid to die, but I did not want to die yet. I was angry. I was mad.
As soon as I arrived in the hospital, I was subjected to a CAT scan, port line and then chemotherapy. One week later, the blood clot moved into a different vein and surgery was being contemplated, as I could not take blood thinners due to a contraindication with the chemo. I had Dopplers daily to follow the clot, so two weeks later, as I sat in bed waiting for the doctor to tell me there was no way I was dying now, he just shook his head. Whenever my family asked him how I was doing, he would only say he was hoping for the best. By now, bald and totally exhausted from the chemo, Infectious Disease was called in when I ran a high fever for two weeks straight. Through it all, I had 18 blood transfusions, 20 platelet transfusions (stem cell and other bone marrow were not options), four bone marrow tap tests, 30 pills a day, shots to my stomach and daily intravenous Ativan which knocked me out for hours.
After two months in the hospital, the doctor said I hit a first level remission and could go home and do outpatient infusion chemo therapy. NYU was three blocks from my condo, but I had to take a cab as I had no energy to walk. Now, my regimen was outpatient chemo, 40 pills a day, self-injecting medications and weekly blood tests.
Yet despite all of this, in August 2010, my wife advised she was pregnant. I called my doctor to tell him and reminded him he said I would be dead in two weeks and not be able to have children. But, now my wife is pregnant, so it is up to you to start the college fund. I heard him crying on the other end.
I had infusion chemo from end of January until October. Usually one week on one week off the entire time. Also taking chemo meds 30 plus pills daily over a year And Daily injections. Amazing the chemo did not kill me. On November 1, 2010, during a visit at the doctor’s office, he told me I had achieved a molecular remission – there was no leukemia in my system. However, he said if I relapsed, the only treatment was arsenic, and that would not work. He said I needed to go five years in molecular remission in order to advance to a slight statistical category of having a relapse. I continued with the pills and self injections for many more months and did blood tests weekly, then twice monthly, then once a month, once every two months, once every six months, once a year….. to no more blood tests necessary.
I have dinner with my doctor in New York every few months. He says medically he can’t explain how I am still alive….it is overwhelming! Only thing Dr said was although no medical explanation why I survived, in his opinion the leukemia was so strong and the chemo was so strong it caused an internal explosion and the chemo won.
On April 19, 2011, my daughter was born healthy!
One thing I believe saved me was during the entire time I forced myself to eat as much as possible. Dr said I would not be able to eat and everything would taste like metal. I just kept eating everything. When I finished all the meds my metabolism was shot and I weighed 335lbs. Then I decided to get back in shape. So went back Down to 220 lbs – the weight I played football at. It has been a long process getting back in shape, building stamina and dealing with it, all physically and mentally. I am still dealing with it all today.
#TEAMRICHARD #OurWhy — what is YOUR why?
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