JODIE’S JOURNEY

Thank you for reading my story.

My website is: www.jodiesjourney.com I am a Mum with two beautiful special needs girls, who has fought blood cancer three times and in total have dealt with six medical traumas. Medical Negligence | Lymphoma 01 | Lymphoma 02 | MDS (RCMD) | Bone Marrow Transplant & GVHD Rejection Disease (Mouth, Throat, Skin & currently: Eyes, Lungs). As a result, I am a ‘Sextuplet Survivor’. Each of the above medical trauma’s could have easily taken my life.

There are very few of us ‘triple cancer survivors’ around or people who have ‘dealt/diced with death six times’ and are still breathing!! During my search for an answers to my initial symptoms, I experienced a delayed diagnosis – Nov/05 to Sep/06.

I visited 7 doctors – 21 doctors visits, but was basically told I was a hypochondriac. Close to death, I discovered in desperation via the local hospital ER that I had extensive and profuse Stage 4 Follicular B-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, eating into nerves | bone & muscle. NHL is a blood cancer that (in me) was caused by two random & common viruses – Glandular Fever and Epstein-Barr Virus. As a result of the extensive disease – I was losing my R leg mobility – my R leg is still weakened and I have atrophy of the R leg muscles, due to tumor scarring. Because of this, I wear a leg brace. I know that had I been diagnosed sooner, I would have avoided almost all of my pain and suffering, by wrestling with cancer three times. Importantly and to save other patients – I made a formal complaint and one of my former doctors was found guilty of medical negligence by my state medical board. I truly want to change our medical system, so that more cancer patients are diagnosed sooner – too many die as a result of a ‘delayed diagnosis’ – amazingly, I skipped that boat several times, but only just.

Since that first encounter with blood cancer in 2006, I relapsed again in 2008 and had to then leave work. In another blow, I then developed another new cancer, caused by the toxicities needed as chemotherapy for Lymphoma 1 & 2. The new cancer was Myleodysplasia or Pre-Leukaemia and I needed a transplant to then save my life. In 2014, I had an Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplant to save my life. I am now in recovery mode and writing my autobiography. All up, I have endured 94 doses of chemo & radiation and now take 48 pills a day, with monthly plasma infusions. It is a miracle I’m still alive. I enjoy writing for publications, magazines and blogging. I also have several years experience as a radio announcer, with TV/Media experience. My story has been seen and heard all over the world. I share and share to help others who are struggling. Royalty and world leaders have listened to and read about my journey through trials and suffering – my journey is still continuing and it inspires thousands of people. I believe that ‘what don’t kill you, makes you stronger’ and that as survivor’s we should ‘take our lemons and make gallons of Lemonade.

Thank you for reading, feel free to visit me online – I would love to chat.

www.jodiesjourney.com