OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - In just a couple of weeks, hundreds of neighbors will fill Stinson Park for Blood Cancer United’s Light the Night. It’s an event to bring patients, survivors, and families together and raise money to fund research towards a cure for blood cancer.
Tyrone Abdul is this year’s Adult Honored Hero, and his story reveals how community and wellness went hand in hand towards his recovery. After approaching the doctor about a suspicious lump in his neck, the tests that followed revealed a shocking discovery.
“They found out that the percentage was 70% Myeloma in the bone marrow,” Abdul said.
Treatment was immediate, causing Abdul’s immune system to become weakened, and forcing him to step away from his community.
“There's a 90 day period of where I had to stay home. You can't be around people because my immune system is basically gone - my system's been reset. I was a floppy disk, I was wiped clean,” Abdul said.
Typically an active individual, Abdul notes that his fitness played a role in his recovery.
“I'm fortunate that being a fitness instructor and doing fitness for all these years also strengthened my bones, Myeloma typically causes brittle bones. The percentages are down, so I went from 70% all the way down, so I'm practically below 5% right now,” Abdul said.
As he works to get percentages even closer to zero, Abdul notes that his community is what keeps him strong.
“I'm gonna get through this and I'm gonna get to that 0.0, and this is my family, this is my community, and they're here to support me. I love that,” he said.
The community has had an impact not just on Tyrone, but on blood cancer research in general.
“The the the treatment has come a long way, but it still has further to go and things are evolving. There's always the need for support from the community for fundraising for the research and for the development. So that people can then live better lives through all this new development and these new treatments,” Abdul said.
Tyrone will be at Light the Night on September 24, and I’ll be the emcee for the event! There’s still more time to donate, to learn more visit lightthenight.org
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