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Multiple Myeloma

An Original Story of Real Heros

by Timothy R. Haldane and John L. Haldane

This is a true story. I hope it gives heart and hope to all who read it. Miracles DO happen!

In the summer of ‘92, my mother, Marian Haldane, (Nana or "the patient" in the story) was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an insidious form of cancer that attacks bone marrow and blood with many tumors. It is usually fatal.

When my son, Tim (then 12 years old), heard of his Nana’s plight, he wanted to do something to help. The result of his efforts was the creation of the heroine, Auntie-Body^©, who was modeled after his Great Aunt Lorraine Roberts (Nana’ s identical twin sister). His original intent was to draw one episode, but he quickly determined that it would take more than one. The original story, intended to be uplifting to his ill Nana, was three episodes.

In the second episode, Tim determined that Auntie-Body^© would need some help. That support came in the form of "Chemo^©," named for the chemotherapy required to fight the cancer, and "Rad^©," the radiation therapy counterpart. These two "side-kicks" were modeled after my father, Rev. Dr. Robert Haldane, Jr. and Lorraine’s husband, Charles Roberts.

My mother’s cancer was treated with heavy bombardments of chemo and radiation therapy and eventually went into remission (at the end of episode 3). A few months later, however, the cancer returned with a vengeance. Tim, now 13, decided that Auntie-Body^© had to return to action.

As my mother’s treatments and battles for life evolved, so did the periodic episodes of Auntie-Body^©. Sometimes the episodes came in flurries; sometimes Tim went several weeks between creations. The story grew into a total of 17 sheets (13 episodes and an epilogue) with the last sheet created August 20-22, 1994, when Tim was 14.

Each creation is Tim’s. He did the pencil sketches, the inking, and the coloring entirely on his own. The story lines came from the actual events as they unfolded and, therefore, include extremely personal events and observations. Tim bounced ideas off his parents (my wife and I) and we all tapped my parents for information about the treatments and the people involved. Not all of the actualities could be included, of course (like the isolation in the apartment after the bone marrow transplant), but the tale is complete as it is told in the following pages. Most of the creative touches were Tim’ s (such as the "Chemogizer^© bunny").

My parents mailed pictures of the doctor, some of the nurses, and the hospital. They also sent information on the cancer and therapies used to treat it. Tim incorporated as much of this information as possible into his creations, representing the nurses as "auntie-biotics^©," and the doctor as the head progenitor, Oscar. He also used his creativity to represent the germs as nazi "germ-men," the endorphins as "enDOLPHINs^©," the new blood as "baby blood cells," the progenitor cells as "dwarfs," and the CAT scan as two felines named "X" and "Ray."

Each page has a descriptive summary of the episode displayed and a touch of how the story developed.

We hope you enjoy the story and find inspiration in the characters and the people who are involved.

This story is dedicated to Marian Jennie Jordan Haldane, Lorraine Adelia Jordan Roberts, Charles Wilfred Roberts, Rev. Dr. Robert Haldane, Jr., and, of course, Timmy - the boy who wanted to help his Nana and who created a gift for thousands in the process.