Leukemia Battles with Mikaela

My name is Mikaela Daries. I am a 26-year-old proud South African-colored woman. I typically find it very difficult to ask for help and only rely on myself, a consequence of certain life experiences, but I have recently learned, rather was taught, a very difficult lesson about letting go of my coping mechanisms and leaning on my support system. 

On the 28th of January 2024, I went to the GP with symptoms of shortness of breath, night sweats, and extreme fatigue, all symptoms I thought were associated with my anxiety. My GP asked for me to take a blood test, a blood test that would later turn out to be a lifesaver, which showed suspicious results. I was admitted to the hospital on the same day, and on the 29th of January 2024, I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rare and aggressive type of cancer. 

Acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a type of blood cancer that affects a certain type of white blood cell involved in the immune system. In T-ALL, immature T cells grow and multiply uncontrollably, crowding out healthy blood...