Join us in bringing light to the darkness of cancer! We are forming a fundraising walk team for "Light It Red", part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light The Night Campaign. Register today to join our team or make a donation and help fund cancer cures!
Our Team name is Red's Warriors! Hi I'm Red! Andrea R. Hill, I created Red's Warriors after a very hard battle with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in 2021. I am a Bakersfield CPA, a business owner, a mother of two amazing children and a grandmother to two of the cutest kids on the planet. This is my leukemia story:
In March of 2021, a routine blood test came back with odd results. ALL my levels were low, not just one or two but literally all, and I was severely anemic, which at least explained why I was exhausted all the time. Though a 2020 with two major surgeries and a tax season that never ended on top of a global pandemic seemed like a good reason to be exhausted as well. Three rounds of blood panels later and two virtual visits with a hematologist oncologist we decided to wait 4-6 weeks and test again, as each level seemed to be getting better. But at that point there was nothing to pinpoint why my levels were so low.
Fast forward not quite four weeks and on May 6th 2021, I ended up in the ER where I was diagnosed with double pneumonia. Within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital I went septic and found out I had Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, an extremely rare and aggressive form of Leukemia. There were blood and platelet transfusions, bone marrow biopsies, spinal taps and every test and procedure you can imagine. 5 days later on Mother’s Day I started chemo and later that same night I was intubated. I was in a fight for my life.
This was taken day 2 of my hospital stay.
I really don’t remember much about that week, and I can’t imagine what my kids, family, employees, and friends were dealing with while they waited for me to wake up, not knowing if I even would wake up. Things were pretty touch and go at that point. But I will tell you one of the few memories I have of that week is looking my children in the eye and having to tell them I had leukemia and seeing their tears. I will remember that for the rest of my life.
I was in that medically induced coma for 19 days, and in the hospital for a total of 7 weeks. I lost all strength and muscle memory from the coma and illness. I had to relearn to walk, to feed myself, even how to operate my cell phone. All while going through monthly chemo transfusions.
20-30 years ago, APL had a very low survival rate, it was an almost certain death sentence with usually only a few months to live. But medical research funded by organizations like LLS found not only a treatment for APL but a CURE, and APL is now a cancer they use the word curable with.
I type this now cancer free having completed my treatments in January of this year.
While I was sick, I knew I wanted to give back, but now knowing that medical research saved my life, I knew I had to become involved in LLS to help raise funds and awareness. That is why I am happy to have accepted the Executive Challenge to help Light the Night and hope you will join our team or make a donation today.
Home from the hospital (July 2021) but still bed bound 
Chemo Day at AIS Cancer Center
Visting my grandchildren in May of 2022 after not seeing them for two years!
My beautiful family (taken 2019), and my WHY for fighting so hard and to continue to raise money for medical research. Without medical research I would not be here right now.