Elephants and Tea - One Herd - 8

Our Voices
Overlooked and
Undiagnosed
THE DELAY IN DETECTING MULTIPLE MYELOMA
BY OYA GILBERT
It all started in 2015, when what I initially
thought was a heart attack was diagnosed
as an anxiety attack (according to the hospital).
However, I knew something wasn't
right and I pressed on, seeking answers
from my primary care provider (PCP) and
various specialists, only to be brushed off
time and time again.
As the months passed, my symptoms
worsened and my trips to the ER became
more frequent and terrifying. Shortness
of breath, life-threatening fatigue, and
excruciating pain had all settled in as part
of my daily routine. I couldn't sleep most
nights because of the intense pain, yet I'd
doze off while driving from the fatigue.
I worried constantly that I may fall in
front of my two young sons (ages 3 and 7
at the time) and tried my best to keep them
from seeing what was going on. Regardless
of the physical misery I found myself in
daily, I knew more than anything that I
wasn't ready to leave my children.
Yet, each doctor I visited seemed to have
M
8
y battle with multiple myeloma began with a series
of debts, dismissals, and misdiagnoses.
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the same vending machine diagnosis on
tap: either I needed anxiety pills, or I was
just an addict looking for narcotics. These
were the assumptions placed upon me
by well-educated medical professionals.
Meanwhile, I felt like I was completely
losing my grip on reality-they'd mislabeled
me yet again, and still, nobody was
actually listening.
After two years of copays, tests, pills, and
promises, I was no closer to an answer. And
for the first time, I felt myself losing hope.
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Elephants and Tea - One Herd

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