Mick McKellar Update -- Day +1555

The Blessed Dream

I will be retiring for a few hours of much-needed rest in a few moments. However, before I seek the far, fair shore of Dreamland, I have a pleasant milestone to note. On May 26, 2010, around 9:30 AM, I received a phone call from Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital while working at Keweenaw National Historical Park. I’d undergone a blood test because I was concerned about Type II diabetes, an illness well-known among members of my family.

I was unprepared for the message I received. An ambulance was waiting for me at the hospital to take me to Marquette General because I had leukemia! Not only that, but my white blood cell count was dangerously high. Thus began a journey that has not ended; a blessing wrapped in a curse stuffed in an emergency.

Today is the five-year anniversary of the diagnosis of Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). I am officially a five-year cancer survivor!

I will not belabor the point, nor revisit the stories again tonight. The blessings of friendship, support, and prayer have carried me forward and upheld both me and my long-suffering caretaker, Marian. Most of all, I thank my brother Kevin for his selfless donation of stem cells and T-cells transplanted into this old curmudgeon on February 21, 2011. Without his gift of life, our journey would likely have ended rather abruptly.

I thank you all, and I thank God that our journey continues!

Mick