Red Cells and White Cells and Platelets, Oh My!

Yesterday marked one month since my last blood draw, so it was time for another. I had no concerns about this one, except for curiosity. You see, I have been feeling so well that it seemed apparent I am in good health. Since a blood draw means a visit to one of the three Kaiser Permanente medical offices in Salem (about a 20-30 minute drive), we like to combine them with other errands.  As it turns out, we had a couple of other stops we wanted to make. I have been doing a little remodeling in my home brew pub. One project that was long overdue was to install a light over the sink. For that I needed an electrical junction box. Our local hardware store was out of the one I needed, so we added a stop at Lowe's to our Salem junket. We also needed a few things that we normally get at Costco, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to see the brand new store that opened a week or two ago.  So, we hopped in the Ford and headed for "town." Lowe's was first on the list, since ...

On Tuesday I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist. I have been waiting for this, because one of the side effects of chemo therapy has been that my eyesight has changed significantly. Shortly before my diagnosis, I got new glasses. Now I can barely see through them. Interestingly, I found that an old pair of glasses from my past work better, so I have been wearing those.  Before I go to the optometrist to get new glasses, it seems like a good idea to have an ophthalmologist check my eyes to make sure they are organically healthy. As it turns out, there is a problem. Dr. Osterholzer, whom we know affectionately as "Dr. O," said my corneas are "a little wonky." Jill loved that. She said, "Now that's a medical term I can understand!"  By "a little wonky," Dr. O explained she meant that the corneas of my eyes are kind of wrinkled around the edges. She also mentioned that my left cornea has a nodule along one edge. In addition, my eyes seemed...

Did you ever get the feeling someone is preventing you from doing what you want to do? Well, of course, we have all been prevented in one way or another from pursuing something we desired. But this is kind of strangely specific.  In my last post, I mentioned that "my number had come up" in the lottery to receive a treatment of EvuSheld . As I mentioned, I was scheduled for the injections on Tuesday, and sure enough I received them. The advantage of this regimen is that I could get more or less instantaneous antibody protection against Covid19 before exposure. This is important for us immunocompromised patients, because our bodies may not create enough antibodies, even though I have had three doses of vaccine. EvuSheld provides antibodies directly into my system to help prevent a Covid infection. This treatment is distinct from other monoclonal antibody treatments which have been given to vulnerable patients AFTER they contracted Covid.  Having this new level of protection has...