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T+10 Life (in the hospital) with Jill

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 8.5 13-17 v Platelets 10 140-375 v ANC 0 1800-8300 - Hospital life is kind of like any other lifestyle, once you get into. You begin to develop routines, and you rely on them to structure your day. Some days, something really remarkable happens, like a bone marrow transplant. Other days are pretty routine. You get up, take a shower, get dressed, order breakfast.  On those days, Jill and I make up our own routines. They usually involve walking. We love to hike, and when we are at home we have a route that we walk around the neighborhood that totals about two miles. Other times we go for a walk by the creek or in the nature preserve
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T+8 A better day is coming.

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BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 8.6 13-17 v Platelets 10 140-375 v ANC MIA 1800-8300 v When I was about five or six, my dad, who was a private pilot and had grown up building model airplanes before there were model airplane kits, used to take me and my brother to Vic's Hobby Shop in the Hollywood District of Portland. To me the place was like a wonderland. So many model airplanes hanging from the ceiling in such a way as to suggest an aerial dog fight, highly detailed model ships sitting on shelves; I could imagine myself as John Wayne in "Flying Leathernecks,"  or Jeff Chandler in "Away All Boats." It was like a turbocharger for the imag
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T+7 Don't get your knickers in a twist

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 8.8 13-17 ^ Platelets 19 140-375 v ANC 740 1800-8300 v Once upon a time, I was subject to panic attacks. When a newly remodeled Fred Meyer store opened in Portland decades ago, I stopped by during the Grand Opening. I was not there for the festivities, but because I needed something. I walked in the door and started to feel a little ill at ease. There were a LOT of people there. As I moved in the direction I thought would take me to whatever I was looking for, it took me deeper into the crowd. All at once, I found I was having trouble breathing and all I could think of was to run. I was able to quell the urge to run, but I made a bee-
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T+6 Shock and Awe

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 8.7 13-17 ^ Platelets 26 140-375 v ANC 800 1800-8300 ^ I remember when the Iraq War, sometimes called the Second Persian Gulf War, began in 2003. As the news agencies trained their cameras out of hotel windows in Baghdad, their reporters and correspondents went on and on about what to expect. President George W. Bush had warned Sadam Hussein and the Iraqi government that they were about to experience an attack of "Shock and Awe." When the fighting began, the allied powers began bombarding this ancient city with bombs and artillery fire the like of which had rarely been seen, at least since World War II.  It was shocking,
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T+4 The end of an era?

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 7 13-17 ^ Platelets 45 140-375 v ANC MIA 1800-8300 - Have you ever noticed how things change? Phonograph records gave way to 8 Track tapes. Eight track tapes gave way to Tape Cassettes, which gave way to CDs. The great, big cars of the fifties with their fins and huge trunk spaces gave way to smaller, more aerodynamic, more fuel efficient cars. There is a phrase we use to capture these changes: "The end of an era." Sometimes there are good reasons for the abrupt end of an era, like the 1973 gas crunch, when the OPEC nations decided to strangle the oil supply. Suddenly, big, luxurious, inefficient cars were too much of a luxu
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T+3 Conjoined twins

BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 6.9 13-17 v Platelets 59 140-375 v ANC MIA 1800-8300 v Did you ever have a conjoined twin? No, I don't suppose you did, but then again I don't know that for sure. I am definitely at or approaching the nadir, or bottom of the barrel, as far as blood counts are concerned. This is expected about now. Check out the Box Score for today. My platelets are still hanging in there. Above 50 I consider to be acceptable. If I were home I would be on blood thinners at this level. Still there is a risk of bleeding, bruising, petechiae (tiny red spots on my skin), and other fun things. When they go below 10, I will need to have them replaced
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T+2 A Prize in Every Box

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BOX SCORE Element Current Std. Range Trend Hemoglobin 7.6 13-17 ^ Platelets 72 140-375 v ANC 500 1800-8300 v Yesterday, I wrote about a Prize in Every Box, as in Cracker Jack. Today, I am able to give you an example. Last night after I was asleep, I received a text message from my friend Brian, who is also battling AML. He had a high fever at home and was unable to walk, so his wife brought him to the ER around mid-day. The medicos got the fever down, but decided he needed to spend the night at the hospital. The problem with hospital rooms is that there are never enough of them. So, in his text message, Brian wrote, "...they are trying to get a room next to you. So I can talk to you
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