Tearing My Achilles, For Good

I remember being asked by my doctors if I had gone anywhere exotic where I would have picked up a bug or infection. I said, does San Diego count? We went there in March 2016 to visit some friends following a wedding in the LA area. The doctors asked, have you handled or been exposed to any chemicals on the job? I said, does Tylenol count? I remember having to wear a full on moon suit in the fall of 2014 while working for Johnson & Johnson as we manufactured Tylenol tablets from powder form. I even wondered if my achilles surgery might have caused my condition or triggered something I had been living with all my life. My blood wasn't tested before my surgery, so I'll never know. But here's what I do know. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." So what "good" would there be for me tearing my achilles on a simple dribble between the legs at the start of casual pickup basketball game. It was so that I would eventually go to see my doctor, whom I had not ever seen in the 2 years I was at my new job, to discover my blood cancer and start the journey that God had sovereignly allowed in my life. I wonder, would I have even thought to go see a doctor if I hadn't torn my achilles? Not sure. The last time I even saw a doctor was back in January 2014 when I was still working for Johnson & Johnson. My hemoglobin back then was borderline anemic at 12.8 (normal being 13.5-18), so nothing to be concerned about, right? 

Leading up to my achilles injury, since the start of 2016, I had been going to my work gym 3-4 times a week, lifting weights, and riding on the elliptical machine. I felt really good, and definitely showed no signs of a blood cancer. Even after I tore my achilles, for three months I was able to get around the house on crutches, wheel around work on my knee scooter, without feeling any symptoms from my disease. It wasn't until my wife and I went away to Oregon for our niece's wedding in early August, followed up by a camping trip in very hot Livermore, that I felt regularly fatigued, short of breath, and had pounding headaches, especially after going to the bathroom. I thought it was from my achilles or the heat.