Loriana Hernandez felt like she had it all. She'd been a news anchor all over the country whose profile had risen nationally. In her own words, she was a clean-eating, green-drinking, yoga enthusiast. She had a two-year-old son, and was in the midst of fertility treatment when her doctor noticed there was something wrong.

Loriana had AML Leukemia, and a doctor contact at world-renowned Johns Hopkins told her "Get on a plane. Say goodbye to your son. You don't have time to waste. We have a bed waiting for you." She had reported on these stories for years. Now Loriana was the story. In fact, she still deals with the PTSD from her son calling after her down the jetway - a son who wouldn't recognize her after she'd been away for months of treatment.

At Johns Hopkins, reality set in. Because of her Cuban heritage, and lack of people of color on bone marrow registries, she was given a 25% chance of survival. She was told to put her armor on, and she believes that her healthy lifestyle indeed helped her "armor up" for her battle, which included high-intensity chemotherapy. At one point, she was sent home. Doctors believed this might be her last chance to see her son.

Loriana did receive a bone marrow transplant from her sister, and was able to see her son before Christmas. Throughout her treatment and after she was sent home to recover, she did was she was professionally trained to do as a storyteller. Loriana reported. She reported on all the trials and tribulations of the process, including the psychological challenges we don't often hear about. This would later include developing breast cancer because of her chemotherapy, which she also survived. This time she was able to be with her son during treatment, which she saw as a win.

Loriana founded Armor Up For Life, a non-profit that helps people, particularly those in underserved communities, get healthy and prepare for the fight if they do indeed find themselves in a battle like she did. They've coined the term "PRE-hab."

Armor Up For Life Website: https://armorupforlife.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armorupforlife/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/armorupforlife/

Look for her podcast, "Stage Free," coming soon.

Other Resources

National Bone Marrow Transplant Link - (800) LINK-BMT, or (800) 546-5268.

nbmtLINK Website: https://www.nbmtlink.org/

nbmtLINK Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/nbmtLINK

nbmtLINK YouTube Page can be found by clicking here.

Thank you to our sponsors. This season is supported by a healthcare contribution from Sanofi and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

https://www.sanofi.com/

https://www.lls.org/patient-support

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