It was far from easy, but Francie Nordin survived acute myeloid leukemia, a diagnosis preceded by epileptic episodes and pancytopenia, the latter tied to low red cell counts, low white cell counts and low platelets.

 

Her journey began in 2020 when her left foot started swelling.  Then she had a scary episode while driving in which her left eye started uncontrollably moving left and right.

Francie went to an ER, where initially they thought she had a stroke, but tests came back negative, so they referred back to her primary care physician.  In September of that year, she more epileptic episodes, and in December she was diagnosed with epilepsy. 

 

Francie tried to find an epilepsy drug that would work for her, without success.  She had several reactions and was constantly changing medications.  Then one day she was found on the floor of her living room.  She was taken to ER and then because of very low potassium, she was admitted to a hospital.  Throughout her 12-day stay, she was found to have pancytopenia.  Francie strongly advocated for a hemotology doctor instead of an outside referral.  At first the doctor thought Francie might be suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome, in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature.  The oncologist said he and his staff couldn’t figure out what was going on, so he referred me to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.  There she saw a whole bunch of specialists who did a whole bunch of workups and said Francie could be suffering from a virus she had had since childhood. 

 

Still baffled, they called for a bone marrow biopsy.  Francie Nordin went back home to Spokane, Washington and waited for the results, as doctors thought she might have a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia.  They weren’t sure if epilepsy was the cause, but did say it is not uncommon for an epilepsy diagnosis to lead, the chances of blood cancer are very high.

 

Francie decided she wasn’t going to do a bone marrow transplant because she knew what people went through when opting for such a procedure.  She instead chose natural remedies and to rely on prayer.  In the meantime, she developed an infection called parvo, one rarely seen in adults.  Francie said she made huge changes in her diet, got lots of rest and was soon off her epilepsy medication. 

 

Mentally she felt sharp, but physically she was miserable.  Her iron was low and so were her blood counts. 

 

However, Francie says through her diet and through prayers, from her and her friends, her test results improved and so did her health.  It is a process, she says, and she continues to believe she will once again be made whole as if cancer never had happened to her.  Francie Nordin also says she will be better for this journey, as difficult as it had been.  She advocates for oncology patients and she does so with a passion she would not have had were it not her cancer journey.