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When Chris Callasky called her husband one afternoon in July 2024, she sounded frightened and confused. She was sitting in her car and couldn\u2019t figure out how to put it in park.<\/p>\nWhen Chris Callasky called her husband one afternoon in July 2024, she sounded frightened and confused. She was sitting in her car and couldn\u2019t figure out how to put it in park.<\/p>\n
For weeks, the 66-year-old had been experiencing unsettling lapses. She forgot PIN numbers. Used the wrong credit cards. Repeated herself. At times, she couldn\u2019t remember how to roll down a car window. Friends noticed changes, too. At the pool, Chris seemed \u201cspacey.\u201d Her walking looked off. This was not the person they knew – a woman who exercised four to five times a week, kickboxed, golfed in a weekly league, gardened, traveled often, and fiercely valued her independence.<\/p>\n
But that phone call marked a turning point.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called me and said she couldn\u2019t keep the car stationary,\u201d her husband, Rich Callasky, recalled. \u201cShe didn\u2019t know how to park it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That prompted a visit to Chris\u2019s primary care provider who ordered bloodwork after she failed a brief cognitive test. The results came back fast and alarming. Her calcium level was critically high, nearly 14, far above the normal range. The lab urged immediate action.<\/p>\n
Rich didn\u2019t hesitate. He brought Chris to the Emergency Department at UConn John Dempsey Hospital.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI strongly believe she\u2019s still around today because of that decision,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was the best move we ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n At UConn Health, clinicians quickly recognized that Chris\u2019s symptoms were not dementia, but metabolic, caused by a dangerous imbalance in her blood. Further testing revealed something far more serious: her bone marrow was nearly completely blocked, no longer producing red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.<\/p>\n Within days, hematology specialists refined the diagnosis to plasma cell leukemia, an extremely rare and aggressive form of multiple myeloma<\/p>\n \u201cShe was diagnosed with plasma cell leukemia, which we see in roughly one out of a million people,\u201d said Dr. Swarup Kumar, hematologist-oncologist at UConn Health\u2019s Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.<\/a> \u201cThis is not typical myeloma. In this form, the cancerous plasma cells spill out of the bone marrow and circulate in the bloodstream.\u201d<\/p>\n That distinction matters profoundly.\u00a0 In most cases of multiple myeloma, malignant plasma cells remain largely confined to the bone marrow and progress over time. In plasma cell leukemia, those cells flood the bloodstream, disrupting normal blood production and damaging organs rapidly.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a condition that can come on fast,\u201d Kumar said. \u201cPatients can go from feeling relatively well to being critically ill in a very short period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n In Chris\u2019s case, the cancer had overwhelmed her bone marrow and caused calcium to surge into her bloodstream, a life-threatening complication that explained her sudden confusion and dementia-like symptoms.<\/p>\n \u201cHer cognitive changes were most likely related to extremely high calcium levels,\u201d Kumar said. \u201cWe did not believe the cancer had spread to the brain. This was a metabolic effect of the disease, and it required immediate treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPlasma cell leukemia is not a condition where you have time to wait,\u201d Kumar said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something most clinicians see often, and the treatment decisions depend on recognizing exactly what you\u2019re dealing with as early as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n At UConn Health\u2019s Cancer Center, blood cancers are managed by a multidisciplinary team that integrates hematology, pathology, genetics, transplant medicine, and supportive care. That coordination allowed Chris\u2019s diagnosis to be refined quickly and treatment to begin without delay.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is where being part of an academic medical center really changes outcomes,\u201d Kumar said. \u201cYou have the infrastructure, the diagnostics, and the coordination to act fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Just days after arriving at UConn Health, Chris was admitted for intensive chemotherapy. Beginning July 17, she underwent four days of aggressive treatment and remained hospitalized until early August.<\/p>\n The toll was severe. She lost nearly 30 pounds. Her strength disappeared. Her cognition worsened temporarily as her body struggled to recover. Rich stayed overnight every night, sleeping on a hospital couch and working part-time during the day.<\/p>\n Then came the news that changed everything. A follow-up bone marrow biopsy showed 100 percent marrow recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe chemo worked,\u201d Rich said. \u201cHer bone marrow was flowing again. I\u2019ll never forget that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kumar, the response was extraordinary especially given the aggressiveness of the disease.<\/p>\n \u201cShe responded remarkably well to intensive chemotherapy,\u201d he said. \u201cIn cases like this, a strong early response gives us the opportunity to move forward with transplant and really consolidate that progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than continue multiple rounds of chemotherapy, Chris\u2019s care team made a pivotal decision: proceed directly to stem cell transplant.<\/p>\n In September 2024, Chris became one of the earliest patients treated through UConn Health\u2019s then-new autologous stem cell transplant program.<\/p>\n Her stem cells were collected onsite through apheresis, processed and frozen in partnership with a New York-based blood center, then reinfused after high-dose chemotherapy designed to eliminate any remaining cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of the transplant is to allow us to give very high-dose chemotherapy that we otherwise couldn\u2019t safely administer,\u201d Kumar explained. \u201cWe then restore the bone marrow using the patient\u2019s own stem cells.\u201d<\/p>\n On September 26, Day One of the critical 100-day recovery period, Kumar and team reinfused Chris\u2019s stem cells.<\/p>\n \u201cHe rubbed his hands on those frozen stem cell bags,\u201d Rich said. \u201cHe was hands-on, all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n For Kumar, being able to offer transplant at UConn Health is essential, particularly for aggressive diseases where time matters.<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kumar-swarup_UCH_2021-08-25_0001-10-crop-231x300.jpg\")
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