Vickij,
I'm sure this is like nothing you've experienced before, but it sounds so familiar to me because it's so similar to my wife's story, which you can read
here.
Like you, my wife was very tired, the doctors couldn't believe she was walking around with such low hemoglobin (yours was even lower!), she had blood tests and a bone marrow test, transfusions, horse ATG, a re-diagnosis with MDS, and recommendations for a transplant. She eventually did have a bone marrow transplant and fully recovered.
I can appreciate how shocked you must have been at each diagnosis, and how rapidly this must all seem to be happening. Do you have family members nearby to help you get through this?
I have a concern about one thing you said, that you are seeing a
transplant specialist for a recommendation. It's seems very likely that a transplant specialist will talk to you primarily about a transplant, which means that other treatment options (drugs commonly used to treatment MDS, clinical trials, even ATG again) might get short shrift in the conversation. I hope you will hear about the tradeoffs among
all of your options from an
MDS specialist. Perhaps my concern is unfounded, but please be sure to learn about your prospects for a transplant AND your choices if you don't have a transplant, e.g., if no donor is available. And don't be afraid to get second or even third opinions to give you confidence in deciding how to proceed.
Good luck!