The first signs came as a series of infections — sinus, tooth, glandular.

Soon after, throughout November, walking small distances became a chore as the short stretch from a hotel room to the front door or from parking lot to storefront left him out of breath.

Then, the “Voice of Kilgore” lost his signature baritone. Not alarming, not necessarily, but it left Kilgore College’s Manny Almanza curious, to say the least.

“I had all these infections come up that I couldn’t overcome, and normally I’m pretty good at getting rid of stuff,” he explained.

A regular visitor to Parks Fitness Center, the shortness of breath was odd as well.

“I thought I had an upper respiratory infection. Plus, I lost my voice. I really couldn’t talk very well.”

It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving that brought things to a head.

“I noticed there was a wound on my foot that hadn’t been there before,” Almanza recalled. Taking no chances, he visited Good Shepherd Medical Center’s Kilgore Emergency Room. As the examination progressed, “They had trouble tying in what all the infections were, how they were related.”

The blood test made it clear.

“They noticed I had leukemia.”

After a month of uncertainty, the change was immediate.

Almanza was loaded into an ambulance Nov. 29 and transported to Baylor Medical Center. He opened December 2014 with his first round of chemotherapy to treat his acute myeloid leukemia.

The past few months seem “compressed,” Almanza said Tuesday.

The cancer’s in remission — the good news came by Christmas, confirmed by multiple bone marrow biopsies.

“I knew when I got home,” he explained. Going back to the hospital Jan. 19, Almanza returned to Kilgore Friday following the second round of chemotherapy. “That’s to make sure it stays in remission. As long as it’s gone, keep it gone.”

Following the weeks of mystery symptoms, the quickness of the diagnosis and rush of treatment has been a blessing, he added, and — but for a few down days — helped keep his spirits up. He’s set for a bone marrow transplant in less than a month.

“Sometimes some of these journeys that folks take in this particular area are not compressed. They might last a long time,” Almanza explained. “To go from diagnosis to having the transplant in March, that’s pretty fast.

“Because it goes so fast you have to think and react quickly. You have to do what you have to do and tough it out.”

Coordinator of marketing operations and outreach for Kilgore College, Almanza is also the announcer for the school’s athletic programs

Of course, there are many other Kilgore voices joining Almanza in his recent fight — principally his wife, Tracy; daughter, Jessica; and son-in-law, Jeremy Blaylock, along with many friends, colleagues, church members and other supporters in Kilgore, Longview and beyond.

“Great, great support. Wow. I kind of tear up thinking about it. Obviously, my family’s been great. My wife is the best caregiver in the world. My whole family’s been fantastic. Right there, that’s the core of any kind of support and encouragement you can get it,” Almanza said. At church and at the college, “I was so impressed with the support, love and encouragement. Folks in Kilgore, even folks I don’t even know, have given encouraging words.”

On his birthday Sunday, Carter BloodCare collected 36 units of blood from 30-plus donors during a five-hour drive in Almanza’s name in Forest Home Baptist Church’s Richardson Building. He’s attended the church about 18 years.

Joanna Fruia of Longview spearheaded the weekend collection and donated the day’s 26th unit.

“This is a great way for people to show support without being in the family’s way,” she explained. According to Carter BloodCare employees, the day’s take was aboveaverage for a single collection. “The congregation has been wonderful.”

Fruia also organized a bone marrow typing at Kilgore College Jan. 29 — the event was impressive, she said, with a steady stream of Almanza’s coworkers eager to help.

“All of the faculty and staff was just all over, ‘What can we do?'” Fruia said. “He’s the ‘Voice of Kilgore College.’ They all love him, we all love him.”

Of all those who attended the Jan. 29 campaign at Kilgore College, 57 were eligible to undergo a cheek swab for bone marrow typing.

“We had no idea what to expect, honestly,” said Elise Fruia, Joanna’s mother, gratified by the response. “There was a real big push from all the people that knew him. It was amazing, better than we could have ever hoped for.”

The journey isn’t over yet.

Home for now, Almanza will return to Baylor Medical Center Feb. 26 to begin the transplant process.

“I will go in and sort of get prepped and ready to go. They’ll give me chemotherapy. After a week of chemotherapy, March 6 should be the transplant date,” he explained. Protecting his match’s privacy, Almanza knows him personally: “I was told that he was a complete match.”

Assuming all goes well in March — that the match’s medical condition is acceptable, for example — treatment continues.

“In realistic terms, after I get the transplant, I’m going to be monitored closely for a year to make sure,” he said. “There’s certain things you have to do and methods you have to follow. It’s still a very careful process after the transplant.”

In that time, and beyond, Almanza hopes his experience with the disease can in some way help others.

Through the blood drives and bone marrow typing, for example, “That’s people caring. That’s people doing stuff that they decided to do on their own. They decided it would be something that in some sense would help me defeat it,” he said. “It helps others — bone marrow matching could save somebody else’s life. Donating blood could save somebody’s life someday. I hope it brings some awareness to leukemia. I hope it brings some good out of it. Then it’s worth it.

And, through it all, “This is all a God-thing. The Lord gets all the credit for all of this. Without faith, without being in the Lord, without the Lord’s goodness and mercy, it’s hard for people to get through things like this.”

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