This month, I’m not going to write about music, music education, or anything related to DAMA. Instead, I want to share a little about my world this week and ask for your thoughts and prayers.

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I received one of those phone calls that makes you feel light-headed, the kind where your whole body is suddenly flooded with a heavy rush. My niece, who turned thirty in January, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. The oncologist explained that it was not caused by anything genetic or environmental. It was a rare and devastating fluke. 

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She had been experiencing severe pain in her side and went to the ER where she was sent home and told to return if it worsened. When she went back a second time, doctors ran additional tests and that’s when they discovered the cancer. Thankfully, it was caught very early. If her body responds well to chemotherapy, she will still face three years of grueling treatment.

Alicia holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering. She has a great job in San Diego, and she and her boyfriend had been talking about rings, weddings, and children.