I'm donating the four book series to the Hospital floor where I received my chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant to treat my leukemia. I'm a survivor and I'm now cancer free! It's been a touch journey and I have a lot to be thankful for. I hope to inspire those that cared for me and those that are going through what I went through. So, I'm writing the following passage on the inside of the front cover of Book One of my series.
Hopefully, it will help at least one person who is experiencing what I experienced.
To the Warriors in Scrubs, and the Fighters in Beds
This story, and the series it belongs to, were never meant to exist. I began writing during one of the darkest times of my life—not as a lifelong dream, but as a lifeline. Oh, I had the dream to write, but I had never actually acted upon that dream.
I was diagnosed with leukemia, underwent chemotherapy, and received a bone marrow transplant. I was told that something as simple as a bacterial or fungal infection could kill me. A virus could kill me, too.
I couldn't go out. I couldn't see people. I was isolated, shut in, cut off from the world, with only TV, books, and my loving wife to comfort me. And then, in the middle of all that, my brother was killed in a tragic car accident on his way to work.
I was lost in grief, fighting for my life, unsure of what tomorrow would bring. It was my wife who suggested I try writing, as I always thought I was capable of doing.
But in the stillness of those days, in the quiet spaces between pain and progress, stories began to take shape. They gave me something to hold on to when everything else felt like it was slipping away.
To the nurses, doctors, technicians, and everyone who cared for me during that time, thank you. You weren’t just doing a job. You were the hands that caught me when I was falling, the voices that reminded me I wasn’t alone. You saw me at my worst and never gave up on me.
And to the patients who might be reading this, know that I see you. I was you. Some days will feel endless. Some will feel impossible. But if you’re reading this now, you’re still here. And that means you’re still fighting. Keep going. Even in isolation, even in pain, there is still room for hope. There is still room for light.
This book and the series it is part of are more than fiction. They are a symbol of survival and of what can grow in the ruins. I wrote it because I had to, and I share it now because I want you to know that you are not alone.
With all my gratitude,
Scott Ickes
Leukemia Survivor • Husband • Brother • Author
