Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh My!

On the day before yesterday I wrote: " I don't know if I was more disappointed that my platelet level is going down, or that, although I was just at the threshold for another platelet transfusion, my HemOnc wanted to wait until tomorrow for a new blood draw to decide on transfusion." Today I am here to say, "Always listen to your HemOnc!"  I had a blood draw yesterday, and my blood counts are rebounding! Hemoglobin is up a bit; platelets are up to the point that I will need to be back on blood thinners because of my deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and my neutrophils are coming back! Neutrophils mean immunity, and their presence is tracked by a datum dubbed Absolute Neutorphil Count (ANC). And mine is on the rise!! And that makes me feel better physically and emotionally. Typically, when my blood counts begin to rebound, the numbers come up pretty quickly. So, I anticipate that platelets and ANC will be into the normal ranges by Monday, just in time for my return...

Sometimes, you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug. This past week I have felt like the bug.  In my previous post , I mentioned that I had required numerous medical appointments. Well, with apologies to Sonny Bono, the beat goes on!  On Saturday, I had a transfusion of packed red blood cells. That required a drive to Portland, since the oncology/infusion center in Salem is not open on the weekends. Still, I was grateful to receive this treatment. If you have ever been anemic, you will understand why. Anemia, defined as " a quantitative deficiency of the hemoglobin," leaves one weak, dizzy, short of breath. Normal hemoglobin levels in men are between 13.5 and 17.5 grams per deciliter of blood. My level on Friday, when I had my last blood draw before the transfusion, was 7.6 or around half of what I should have. Trust me, that can leave a guy weak, dizzy, short of breath. Another thing that I have discovered is that a low platelet count can have similar sym...

Did you ever experience what the immortal Yogi Berra called "déjà vu all over again?" You know, when you experience something and you could swear you are reliving something you've already lived through. I love the movie "Groundhog Day," starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowell.  In case you haven't seen it, Bill Murray plays Phil Connors, a cynical, egotistical TV weatherman assigned to cover the emergence of Punxsutawney Phil, the "official" Pennsylvania groundhog that shows his face every February second to predict whether spring will come early. On the day in question, Connors, annoyed by this demeaning assignment, awakens to a clock radio at 6AM and makes his way to the area where Punxsutawney Phil is snoozing in his lair. When Phil comes out and sees his shadow and then returns to his burrow, it would seem the story is over, spring will be delayed and Connors and his crew can head back to New York.  But Connors is in for a surprise. On the way ...

The plan is working...kinda. In a previous post , I mentioned that the oncology team and I had worked out a plan to keep me out of the ER. So, here's an update on that plan. Bottom line? I haven't had to go to the ER.  I had a blood draw on Friday last week. It showed my platelets were going down but not low enough for a transfusion. So, I had another blood draw on Monday this week, which showed platelets below the transfusion threshold. I had an appointment on the books at the Sunset clinic in Hillsboro, a good hour and a half from home. As I was leaving the clinic in Salem, after my blood draw, I got a call from the oncology office. They told me that there was a mix-up. Oh, no, I thought, for by this time I was beginning to have some signs of bleeding problems. To my great relief, the mix-up turned out to be that platelets had been ordered and delivered to the Skyline Office, in Salem, not the Sunset Office. That being the case, I was directed to go to the Skyline office, som...

For some reason, I am feeling a bit giddy today, so I thought I would share this silly piece I wrote several years ago: From April 19, 2015 on my blog Topper Takes a Trip Now if this isn't an example of doing nothing, I don't know what is! Me and Pop - a poem by T. Waugh We arrived on a day when the cook was away, and the butler had gone on vacation. I said to my father, “It's really a bother, and no one was there at the station.” “Oh, it isn't so bad,” said my dear old Dad, “in fact it could even be worse. Suppose for example, that nuclear sample had fallen from inside your purse! And think if that vial from the nuclear pile had split and its contents had spilt. If the lack of a ride your patience has tried, just think about that kind of guilt.” Of course, he was right, and with all of my might I repented of my apprehension. After all, I had reasoned, a platform all seasoned with uranium might bring attention To the fact that we ...

I love puzzles...well, some puzzles. I don't care for jigsaw puzzles. They make me feel that my eyes may just drop out on the table, roll on the floor and get stepped on. On the other hand, I start each morning with a game of solitaire on my laptop, a crossword puzzle and a sudoku. By the time I have finished with these, there is enough blood pumping to my brain (well, and caffeine, too, since this process includes a first cup of coffee) that I feel awake and functional enough to begin processing my day.  In the past couple of rounds of consolidation chemotherapy, a puzzle has presented itself. It is one I desperately wanted to solve, and here it is:  When I come home from the Club on a Monday, my platelet count is usually in the neighborhood of 200. That is within the "normal" range and presents no threat to my well-being. On the following Thursday, when I generally have my next lab work drawn, my platelet count has dropped to around 100. That, too, is a good number; a l...

Remember the Mighty Casey? In Ernest Lawrence Thayer's famous poem "Casey at the Bat," he was the pride of the Mudville baseball team. We join the story in the 9th inning:  The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play, And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game. The crowd was in despair. Down two in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, they were beginning to leave the stadium. The next two batters were the bottom of the order and offered little hope, but Flynn hit a single, and Blake a double. Suddenly, there was hope for the Mudville nine, for the top of the order, none other than the mighty Casey, was coming to bat with two men in scoring position. Even a base hit would keep the game alive, and a home run, well that would end it in a glorious, ecstatic victory.  Now Casey, apparently, had embraced the hype about hi...

When one is hospitalized for an extended period of time, one gets to know something about his caregivers. Amazing! They are people, too, with their own personal burdens and hopes and dreams and pains and anguish.  This morning, I learned that my night nurse will be reducing her working hours to care for her husband who has been recently diagnosed with a rare, congenital heart condition that can cause a sudden onset of ventricular fibrillation (v-fib). V-fib is essentially a loss of coordination in the heart beat of the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. Instead of periodically contracting as a unit in order to pump blood out into the body and especially to the brain and lungs, the muscle fibers begin randomly contracting so that the ventricles fibrillate, defined as " uncontrolled twitching or quivering of muscular fibrils ."  Think of a football team that lines up to run the fullback through the middle of the offensive line, but when the ball is snapped each player on...

Greetings from Club Sunnyside! I just got checked in for round three of consolidation chemotherapy. This is another five day stay. We spent the night in our friends' condo, which is located about five minutes from the hospital. Jill will be staying there while I am here at the Club.  We arrived at the condo about three o'clock yesterday afternoon. It was a rainy drive from Dallas, but traffic was not terrible, at least from the perspective of the passenger. And by the way, I got behind the wheel of our trusty Ford on Monday. We had a little chip in the windshield, so I ordered a repair kit from Amazon and did the repair that day. Per the directions, I prepped the windshield in the garage and applied the resin repair, and then I was to put the car in the direct sunlight to cure the resin.  With a bit of trepidation, I was able to back the car out of the garage and make a ninety degree turn (in reverse, no less) to position the car just right. The repair turned out perfectly, an...

The University of Oregon Ducks will square off against the Cardinal of Stanford in Palo Alto this afternoon. The Ducks are ranked number three in the AP poll and find themselves in pretty heady company with only perennial powerhouse Alabama and the Georgia Bulldogs ahead of them.  As a confirmed Monday morning quarterback, I have to say that in spite of their 4-0 win-loss record and rather impressive final scores, the Ducks' actual play this season has been, shall we say, less than stellar. One could argue that they have done what they needed to do when they needed to do it, but in my humble opinion, they need a lot of improvement, if they are to be contenders in the final four playoffs.  It is interesting that the Ducks played well against #4 Ohio State while away from home, but have had some struggles in their three home games. As I contemplate my next visit to Club Sunnyside, it occurred to me that my own situation is somewhat analogous. In this, my third round of consolida...