Alehna “Lanie” Crowe – Initial Presentation and Symptoms, Later Diagnosed as Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

On September 3, 2018, Alehna “Lanie” Crowe went to the ER at Illinois Masonic Medical Center.  The reason for going to the ER was fatigue and visual issues in Lanie’s right eye.  The fatigue had been an issue for a while but not anything Lanie felt was urgent, just that she was working and going to school at the same time.

Looking back a little bit, Lanie started feeling masses in her abdomen and vagina about two months prior (maybe three).  Her breasts had increased from an A cup to well over a D cup, more likely even a double D cup.  Her uterus was extended, and she had begun to bleed vaginally again, although she had just completed her menstrual cycle about two weeks prior.  She scheduled an appointment with the Chicago Women’s Health Center, and no one there could really figure out what was going on with Lanie.  She was advised to get a blood test done and then scans.  She had her blood work done immediately.

Lanie sent me the results of her blood tests from August 30, 2018, which I couldn’t understand at the time, but I clearly can now, and she didn’t have another appointment scheduled until the 12th of September.  I urged her to go to the ER.  It was after her girlfriend, Jordan, couldn’t get her out of bed for three days, that she finally went to the ER.  That was September 3, 2018.  She has been in the hospital since.

While she was at Illinois Masonic, it was quite a cluster with the doctor there who was, at one point, telling her to leave without being discharged, having something to do with insurance.  I was livid and hostile and crying all at the same time, dealing with that while trying to board the plane in Pensacola to get to Chicago.  Her condition was at a dangerous level, as she presented with low-grade disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), which is a bleeding and clotting disorder; and her prolactin levels were also extremely high (257.8 on 8/30/18) to where her body was acting as if she were pregnant.  Lanie text me and told me none of the above, but just that they were admitting her.  Jordan text me and explained what was going on at that someone had mentioned that it looked like lymphoma.

All of it seems so long ago, but it really has only been a month.  The next post will include finally meeting Lanie’s oncologist, Dr. Shams Bufalino.