Surprise!

Sometimes things just don't go as we planned or thought they would. As Jill and I approach our next visit to Club Sunnyside, everything has been falling neatly into place. I had blood work on Thursday. We had a pre-admission consultation with an oncology nurse practitioner on Friday. All of my labs looked good; well, my ANC was at zero, but there was time for it to rebound. I have made an appointment for a pre-admission Covid19 test for Monday, and I have an appointment for more blood work on Tuesday. Wednesday is D-Day: check-in day at the Club. 

But, last night I went to bed after taking my evening meds; all five of them. I woke up around 10PM (yes, I was already in bed asleep by 10) and found that when I would take a deep breath, I had some kind of tension or pressure in my upper chest and lower neck. Now, this wasn't the classic "elephant sitting on my chest" that people describe associated with an acute myocardial infarction. For one thing, it was not constant; it only occurred when I took a deep breath. 

"What could it be?" I thought. Then I remembered that my platelet count had come roaring back, and it was a couple of days before I resumed taking my Pradaxa (anti-coagulant, AKA, blood thinner). Now, as I have mentioned elsewhere, I take anti-coagulants because I had blood clots in my legs. Blood clots in the legs can come loose and travel to the lungs, where they diminish or eliminate blood circulation in the lungs. No blood flow in the lungs means no oxygen in the blood to supply the brain. The result can be fatal, if a large enough clot gets to the lungs. Here I was, with higher than normal platelets and nothing to prevent them from creating a clot.

Now I was worried. Did I have a pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot in my lung? I remembered the first time I took Pradaxa. Now, these puppies are big! (see photo below) That first one lodged in my throat part way down. It caused a burning sensation. I drank a lot of water and finally got it all down, but my throat burned for several hours. Could this be what I was experiencing again? I decided to see how I felt in the morning.

 Well, morning came and the sensation had not abated. I spent some time deciding how to break the news to Jill. Convinced it was not a heart attack, I recalled for her my first encounter with Pradaxa, and then I said, "I have that kind of sensation: pressure or tension in my chest and neck." My little trouper showed no sign of alarm, but she got right up to dress and get the car.  

I slowed her down and reminded her that the oncologist told us to call her office in case of symptoms. I called, but it's Sunday. Then I called the Advice line. After a short delay, I actually spoke to a physician. I answered her questions and described my symptoms. She said, "I don't think it's your heart, but in view of your high platelet count, we can't rule out PE unless you go to the ER. I will let them know you are coming." 

Let me just say here that, if you are planning to visit an ER, Sunday morning at 8:45 is not a bad choice. There was literally no one in the waiting room. We were ushered right in. Within minutes I had an EKG 

 

and a chest x-ray and was in an examination room. Dr. Landen, who was the first to diagnose my leukemia back in June, came in and ordered a blood draw, a Covid test and a CT scan. Then the waiting began. Jill and I were both glad to be in a private room. There is a surge of Covid19 in Oregon right now, so the less contact with others the better, especially when my ANC is zero. 

 To shorten this rather lengthy tale, I will fast forward to the end and tell you that I had no signs of heart disease, no signs of PE, and my Covid test was negative. And as a bonus, the new blood work shows my hemoglobin is up and my ANC has taken off like a rocket and is now at 1,100, giving me a good measure of immune response capability. There goes that miracle body of mine again, doing its thing.

We were relieved, to say the least. While we were at the hospital, my symptoms diminished, and there was nothing left to do but head for home. Dr. Landen agreed that it might very well be a chemical irritation from one of my meds that caused the symptoms. At least, she assured us, it wasn't my heart or lungs. 

So, yeah, that wasn't how we had planned to spend Sunday. Our friend Bob, a retired pastor, was preaching at our church today, and we were looking forward to that. We'd have watched the service online anyway, however, so now we will just wait until it is posted on the church website and hear Bob's message then.

The fact that, plan as we might, life can throw us some pretty intimidating curve balls made me think of the parable of the rich fool: 

And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ (Luke 12:16-20) 

Sometimes things just don't go as we planned or thought they would. That's why Jill and I are making an effort to live out the 12 Step mantra: "One Day at a Time."  In this case we had a short detour, but it could have ended up spoiling all those plans we made, if I had been admitted to the hospital for something serious. God continues to bless us through this adventure