In April 2005, Jerry Wheeler started having nosebleeds.

“We thought it was just his sinuses,” says his mother, Kathleen. “Then one day he came home from his job at the local fishery. After showering, he came into the living room with just his shorts on — and I nearly fainted. He was covered in bruises. They were huge, all over his stomach, legs, and arms. When I asked him what had happened, he said they were from carrying crates of lobster and crab.”

Kathleen worried that her son’s bruises were caused by something more serious. Three of her cousins had developed leukemia, and she feared that Jerry had it, too. She had noticed that Jerry seemed to tire easily lately and that he was losing his appetite. Then he developed blood blisters on his tongue. He and Kathleen went to the hospital.

“Jerry asked the doctor, ‘Am I going to be here very long? I’ve got to get to work.’ The doctor looked at him and said, ‘I don’t think you’re going to be going to work today.’”
 
Within hours Jerry was being air-lifted to the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland, from his home in Ship Cove. There, Kathleen’s worst fear came true: at the age of 23, Jerry was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a rare form of the disease. 

“Even though I expected it, it was still a huge shock,” remembers Kathleen. “It was devastating. The worst thing I could imagine was that I might lose a child.”

From May until September, Jerry received treatment in St. John’s, where the province’s few hematologists practice. He had only the occasional visit home. Kathleen stayed with her son, sleeping in the hospital’s hostel. Her husband, Morgan, made the nine-hour drive from Ship Cove to be with his wife and son each weekend.

Morgan’s visits, and visits from other friends and family, helped Kathleen through the challenges of helping care for her son away from home. One of the hospital pharmacists, a woman named Pam, visited regularly with Kathleen, providing courage and strength. Other families staying in the hostel also gave support: “We became like one big family,” says Kathleen. “And I think God must have helped me get through it, because I've never prayed so much in my life!”
 
In September, Jerry finished hospital treatment. “I'll never forget the look on his face when he finally got to go home for good," says Kathleen. “He looked so happy.”

Jerry now has a clean bill of health. He still visits St. John's for checkups every six months — but he never stays long. “He drives down and comes back that very same day, even if he has to drive all night,” says Kathleen. “He always wants to come home.”