Living with Hope: A Myeloma Journey
29 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
Saturday, September 29th, I received an award at the ICE-T (Immune Cell Effector Therapy) Congress held on the campus of the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Abdallah, my myeloma specialist, explained it was for my commitment to helping other myeloma patients. I’m humbled by the award.
25 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
We had a great group of friends and family attend our August 23, 2025 Book Launch! David and I read from our book Living with Hope: A Myeloma Journey which chronicles our health experiences with multiple myeloma. These are just a few if the pictures our photographer, granddaughter Lily, took of our celebration. There will be more to come.
27 Jul 2025 2 Comments
Book Launch Celebration
Living with Hope: A Myeloma Journey
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our book, Living with Hope: A Myeloma Journey! This story is deeply personal, so it felt only right to host the celebration in the comfort of our home, surrounded by the people who have supported us every step of the way.
There will be a brief reading during the event—I’ll be sharing one of my favorite journal entries, and David will read an excerpt from his Afterword. With so many wonderful people planning to attend, it might be a little chaotic—but above all, it will be fun!
To help make the day special, we’ve ordered beautiful, coordinated plates, napkins, and utensils from a special occasion collection. We’ve even included some paper fans in the same pattern—perfect for any children (especially our grandchildren!) who may join us. We will be serving fruit, cheese, and cupcakes.
We’ve also added a few personal touches:
✨ A guest book – so when I’m old and gray (no comments, please!), I can look back and remember everyone who was with us on this meaningful day.
📚 Laminated bookmarks – because I’ve always loved a good bookmark that lies flat and holds your place just right.
Most importantly, we want to say thank you. We truly could not have completed this journey—or this book—without the unwavering love and support of our family and friends.
With gratitude and love,
Lou and David Sears
16 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
My husband David and I have been working for the past several months putting together our book “Living with Hope: A Myeloma Journey” that tells about our twelve year journey with multiple myeloma.
The following is the “SHAZAM” summary on the back of our book.
A true story of love, courage, and resilience in the face of an incurable cancer
When life changes in an instant, how do you hold on to hope?
Living with Hope is the moving true story of one couple’s journey after an incurable cancer diagnosis. From the initial shock of diagnosis to navigating treatments, clinical trials, and the unpredictability of remission and relapse, this intimate memoir offers an honest and heartfelt look at the emotional and physical challenges of living with multiple myeloma. Told with raw vulnerability and unwavering love, this book is not just about cancer – it’s about choosing hope when everything feels uncertain, finding strength in partnership and embracing life. For anyone facing the unthinkable – or walking beside someone who is – Living with Hope is a testament to the power of love, perseverance, and the human spirit.
Our book is available through Archway Publishing, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
23 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in My Cancer Journey Tags: family, grief, health, life
The following is a beginning, a rough draft, of the forward to my story. It will be an introduction to my journal.
FORWARD
On May 9, 2013, my life changed. I have always heard your life can change in an instant. It is true.
It was after school on a Thursday before Mother’s Day weekend. I was in my classroom working with my colleague and friend, preparing materials for the next day. We were Reading Specialists who worked with students who needed extra help in reading. We had found a Mother’s Day poem that the students could write on cardstock and present to their mothers.
As I was driving home, I began to feel extremely tired, to the point that I thought I would have to pull over and have my husband David come and get me. I got off the highway and continued home on a less busy road, finally making it. As soon as I arrived, I fell asleep on the couch.
David had been visiting his mother at a rehabilitation center where she was recovering from pneumonia, so he didn’t arrive home until a couple of hours later. He knew something was wrong when he found me on the couch asleep. He said my face was flushed, and I was disoriented. He took my temperature, and it was 103.4. He wanted to take me to the ER at the local hospital, but I said let’s wait and recheck my temp in thirty minutes. Don’t ask me why I thought that would make a difference; it didn’t.
My temperature was still 103.4, so we went to the ER, where they ran various tests to see what was happening. I had not been sick, had not had a cough or cold, and had felt fine all day at school. Whatever was going on with me had come out of nowhere.
After a few hours in the ER, my blood pressure began to tank, eventually reaching 32/28. I was rushed to the ICU and began fluids and antibiotics. I was also given steroids at one point. I started to improve after a day or two. Later, the doctor and nurses told me they thought they were going to lose me in the ICU as my organs were shutting down.
I continued to improve and was dismissed from the hospital after five days. I was visited by a hospitalist as I was packing to go home. She said my labs looked good, except there was a protein spike in my blood, and I needed to be retested by my primary care doctor in two weeks. She said it could be something called MGUS. I had no idea what that was, but I started to tear up because it sounded serious. She immediately said, “Stop that! There are people I see who are much worse off than you.” I was shocked at what she said to me but was unable to reply because it was so unexpected.
After recuperating at home for a week, I was able to return for the last of school due to my quick recovery. As a follow-up to my hospitalization, I returned to my primary care doctor for the blood tests that were needed. When she received the results, the protein spike was still there. She referred me to a hematologist for further tests. My husband and I drove to the address the day of the appointment but were shocked to see “Cancer Center” on the building.
Thus began my cancer journey.
The following account of my cancer journey is exactly as I posted it in my Caring Bridge journal. My intent was to not only keep a written record of my journey but also inform and hopefully help others who are on their own cancer journey.
Take Care,
Lou Sears
12 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
I have mentioned before that I have Multiple Myeloma. I was diagnosed in 2013 and have had many treatments and taken various drugs to fight this disease. I’ve been in and out of remission and am starting my fifth clinical trial.
My husband and I were talking the other day, and he mentioned that I should write a book about my experiences. He thought it might help others who are fighting cancer. I’ve thought about it a lot lately, and I believe I am ready to start writing about my myeloma journey. Stay tuned for excerpts from my early attempts at writing my story.
23 Dec 2021 2 Comments
I grew up in a small lead mining town called Leadwood about an hour south of St. Louis. One of the main grocery stores was called L&M IGA and it was owned by a minister friend of my dad’s. We shopped there each Saturday for groceries. Christmas was getting close, and it was the custom of the store to put toys on the shelves above the produce section. That is where you would find me staring up at the most beautiful Cinderella doll I had ever seen. She had a sparkly blue ruffled dress, pearl earrings, a necklace, and high heels. In the box was also a small golden coach. I wanted that doll so badly that I even prayed each night that she would be under my tree Christmas morning.
The last Saturday before Christmas, I rushed into the store before my family and dashed to the Produce Aisle. She was gone! My Cinderella doll was not there! I was heartbroken. I knew someone had gotten it for their little girl.
When Christmas morning came, my sisters rushed into the living room to open their presents under the tree. I followed them into the room knowing I would not be getting “my” Cinderella doll. Much to my surprise there under the tree was the box with the doll with her sparkling blue dress and golden coach. With tears in my eyes, I ran to the doll and picked her up, and hugged her. I didn’t know that it was my dad who had purchased the doll before Christmas. He had noticed me admiring the doll each week. It was truly the best Christmas ever!
I found a picture in a Google search just like my doll, minus the golden coach.
May you receive your heart’s desire this Christmas!
26 Oct 2021 Leave a comment
I haven’t added to my blog for a while. Life gets in the way. I’ve been going through a new Clinical Trial for my Multiple Myeloma and fatigue is a side effect. It also affects your motivation. Because I haven’t been able to write lately, I’ve felt guilty. Then, I realized I have been writing – posts on FB from time to time and updates on my Caring Bridge blog. So, because I’m a writer/storyteller at heart, my writing has been more focused on my cancer journey. I believe we write what is on our minds and that is what has consumed my mind lately.
Why do we feel the need to write? For me, it’s a way to process what is happening in my life. So many times I have been able to get a clearer picture of the questions I have and ways to approach a problem. An example of how writing has helped me in my cancer journey has been through writing in my Caring Bridge blog. Documenting my journey has helped me formulate questions for my medical team and realize what is important to me.
More than anything, I love my family and miss those who are not with us any longer. I miss my mom and dad, but those who have been on my mind lately are my sisters, Debbie and Marilyn. I found black and white pictures of us when we were little. We were stair steps – I’m the oldest, Debbie was two years younger, and Marilyn was two years younger than her. My youngest sister Sharon (Sherry) and baby of the family Dan are still with me. As kids, we moved a lot because my dad was a minister and would go from one church to another about every three to four years. As a result, I attended four different schools kindergarten through twelfth grade.
When you move to a new community and begin a new school, it’s always a challenge to make new friends. For me, it wasn’t as difficult as it was for some of my siblings. I think this would make a great theme for a new picture book. When I was still teaching reading, several of my students who were struggling with reading were kiddos who had moved several times. They lost out on continuity in reading instruction. Having difficulty learning can also lead to difficulty making friends and low self esteem. I envision a little first grader named Hope who has moved a couple of times and also receives help in reading. The title would of course have to be HOPE!
24 Sep 2020 Leave a comment
Words can move us to tears or anger. They can also move us to action. Words are powerful.
Recently, I’ve been thinking about writing a story that could help kids who are going through difficult times.
Before I retired from teaching, I was always in awe of teachers who planned activities that ignited a spark of kindness in their students. One such activity was called the Kindness Chain. For one week each spring, students were encouraged to show an act of kindness for another student or watch for acts of kindness that others might show. The classroom teachers would have pre-cut slips of colored construction paper, and students would write down acts of kindness they observed or exhibited during the week. The paper slips were linked together and displayed around the grade level hallway. If the grade level connected the chain all the way around by the end of the week, they would get to celebrate with a popcorn party.
I thought this would make a fun picture book for primary students and inspire other students and teachers to do this for their school. While still teaching, I would often use a picture book to introduce a concept or begin a reading or writing activity with my students. A book about a Kindness Chain could work as a catalyst to encourage kindness in a school.
Words are powerful.
Lou and David Sears 