Life Changing News

Note: This post is vague for some privacy concerns. If you’re really interested the details, reach out.

The last several years were tough. Those years were harder than any other period of time in my life. The difficulty wasn’t related to challenges of the time like COVID-19, inflation, housing affordability, inequality, etc., but those certainly didn’t help.

The dilemma was internal. It centered around my life, my family’s life, and our future.

Here’s the scenario:

• I have a 50/50 chance of developing a specific terminal disease. There is nothing I can do to influence the outcome.
• If I develop the disease, it will happen between ages 55-65, I would likely die in 2-4 years after showing symptoms.
• I have known several patients with this disease through its various stages, including death.
• I am well educated about this disease, state of the art treatments/research, and my outlook for anyone with disease is bleak.
• A blood test can determine whether or not I will develop the disease with >99% certainty.

The scenario played out in my head over and over: What if I develop the disease? Eventually, I couldn’t take the uncertainty. I made the choice to get the blood test.

January 17, 2023 gave me the test results: I will not develop the disease.

I’ve got a new lease on life.