0074: The Trauma Behind the Treatment: My Leukemia Story (Part 1)

I’ve spent my career talking about grief and trauma. Then I found myself living through a kind of trauma I wasn’t prepared for.   Nearly three years ago, Dr. Christina Zampitella was diagnosed with leukemia. Now, as she reaches the long-awaited milestone of completing treatment and ringing the bell, she’s ready to share the story of what it took to get here.   In Part 1, Christina takes us back to the beginning: the exhaustion that came seemingly out of nowhere, receiving a leukemia diagnosis days after knee replacement surgery, being sent directly to the emergency room, and suddenly finding herself navigating chemotherapy, isolation, uncertainty, and a medical system she didn’t fully understand. She opens up about the medical trauma that happened along the way, from struggling to get clear answers and feeling reduced to a diagnosis to losing her hair, watching her body change, experiencing serious complications, and trying to advocate for herself while fighting for her life.   Christina also reflects on the people who made her feel seen and cared for during some of her most frightening moments, and why compassion, communication, and dignity matter so deeply in medical care. This is a deeply personal look at what can happen emotionally and psychologically while the body is being treated, and the experiences that Christina is still making sense of today.   Part 2 drops next week.   Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to Phoenix Rising 00:35 Why I’m Sharing My Leukemia & Medical Trauma Story 01:30 The First Sign Something Was Wrong 02:15 An Unexpected Call About My Blood Work 03:30 Hearing the Words “You Have Leukemia” 04:45 Being Sent Straight to the Emergency Room 05:40 Six Hours in the ER Waiting Room 07:00 Hospitalized, Confused & Afraid 08:15 Thinking I Was Going to Die 09:30 Starting Treatment & Getting a PICC Line 10:40 Trying to Understand My Leukemia Diagnosis 12:00 Three Days Without the Answers I Needed 14:20 Finally Learning Why I Was on That Hospital Floor 15:20 Understanding My B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia 16:30 A Month in the Hospital 17:45 The Lack of Coordinated Care 19:20 Trying to Understand the Treatment Plan 20:20 The Trauma Behind Medical Jargon 23:00 Isolation, Family & Life Outside the Hospital 25:20 When a Doctor Said “People Like You” 28:00 Fighting to Be Seen as a Person, Not a Diagnosis 30:00 Finding a Way to Advocate for Myself 32:00 Why Patients Need Information They Can Understand 34:15 The Nurses Who Made Me Feel Human 36:00 The Importance of Connection in Medical Care 37:30 Spending Christmas in the Hospital 38:15 Grieving My Brother While Fighting for My Life 39:30 The Support That Helped Me Through 40:20 Meeting a Doctor Who Changed My Experience 41:30 Losing My Hair & Watching My Body Change 44:15 Not Recognizing the Person I Was Becoming 45:20 Saying Goodbye to My Parents 46:30 A Treatment Decision With Serious Risks 47:20 Experiencing Two Massive Seizures 48:30 Waking Up Terrified, Confused & Vulnerable 49:30 Another Medical Complication 50:15 Losing a Treatment Option