Mom, I'm really sick. I have Leukemia.

Okay. It's time to write my story. Nic's story and our whole family's story.

When the phone rang last May 31st at 11:00 PM, I had actually forgotten that my son Nic had called earlier that evening and told me he was going to urgent care. He had a temperature of 103. We had gone to my brother's house on Memorial Weekend - our whole extended family was there. Nic wasn't feeling well - coughing, cold, bronchitis-type symptoms. He had a pain in his chest. He was very tired and it was hard to wake him to come to the table. He had been 'doctoring' for a while - they kept giving him antibiotics and treating his symptoms, but he was busy trying to finish college, so he kept plugging along.

He graduated from the University of Minnesota on May 16th with a degree in Biochemistry. He started his college education thinking he might like to be a lawyer so he studied Political Science. After a year, he started thinking that if he didn't get a law degree, what would he do, so she switched to engineering. He was always very good in math and science, and that logical thinking suited him well. When he got ready to specialize, he decided Biomedical Engineering would be his choice - until he spoke with some engineers who described most of their work as being on a computer and doing design. Nic wanted to work with people so he switched once again to Biochemistry. He got a part-time job working in a lab on campus and enjoyed the work and the people there.

So he graduated. We were so proud of him. He was just starting his job search and was looking at options in-state and nationwide. I called him after that trip to Wisconsin and asked if he had gone back to the doctor, but he said he was feeling better. Until Sunday the 31st. He and his boyfriend Irael were going to go to a 3rd Eye Blind concert that evening, so he tried napping in the afternoon, but when his temp was up to 103, they decided he needed to go in. They went to Urgent Care, but there was a 2 hour wait, so they went to the emergency room at the University of Minnesota Medical Center on campus.

That's when he called me. Upon examination, they found that his white blood cell count was off the charts. His blood was so full of leukemic cells, it was starting to get thick. He told me "Mom, I'm really sick. I have Leukemia."

No, not Nic. Not my child. It was surreal. Micalie and I were visiting in the kitchen and I was getting ready to go to bed - I had to work in the morning. I couldn't believe what he was telling me and said that it wasn't fair, and Nic calmly said "Mom, life isn't fair." It hasn't been to Nic, anyway.