How to eat an elephant

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range	Trend
Hemoglobin	6.6	13-17	-
Platelets	7	140-375	v
ANC	190	1800-8300	^

How do you eat an elephant? Thus goes an old meme. The answer? One bite at a time. It's as if we have been eating an elephant a whole mouthful at a time the last couple of weeks. This week is a bit less hectic, although yesterday was the last big mouthful. I needed to have a dental exam and x-rays to clear another potential hurdle to the transplant process, then in the afternoon we had a virtual appointment with a Kaiser oncology social worker named Erick, whose job it is to evaluate our readiness to take on the challenges of intense medical treatment compounded by moving and being displaced from our home for several months. 

Take a look at the Box Score, which reflects Monday's lab work. Hemoglobin and platelets were well below the threshold for transfusion. So, I was scheduled for transfusions at 3:00pm yesterday. Fine and dandy. On the other hand, our meeting with Erick was scheduled for 2:00pm. No problem, unless you factor in 45 minutes travel time to the clinic for the transfusions. No worries; we'll do the virtual appointment on my phone while driving to the clinic.

Now you must understand that this scenario has a history. Originally, we were scheduled to meet with Erick much earlier. One of my medical tests was later scheduled for that same time slot. So, we contacted Erick and changed the appointment time. When the appointment time arrived, we attempted to log on to the Zoom meeting, but somehow in the changing of the appointment time, the crucial piece of sending us the code for joining the meeting didn't happen. 

Erick called later and apologized for the mishap. We rescheduled the meeting for yesterday at 2:00pm. When it was time, I downloaded the code and logged on to Zoom. After a few minutes, Erick appeared on our screen. Unfortunately, there was no sound. We scurried on both ends trying to get the Zoom call to work, but alas it was not to be. So, not having the heart to reschedule again, I called Erick and we continued by phone call. He said he had got enough of a look at us on Zoom to be able to say he had observed us, which is part of what he is supposed to report on. 

In the end, we had a lovely and very encouraging conversation, which ended just as it was time to go into the clinic for my transfusions. One of the things Erick asked about was hobbies. When I told him I was a home brewer but hadn't been able to do much of that recently. He said he understood. He is also a home brewer, but has put it on hold, since he has two and four year old kids that take up lots of his time. I'm glad he has his priorities straight.

The transfusions went quite smoothly. The RN who took care of me remarked what a big bag of packed red blood cells I was getting. Immediately on completion of the transfusions, I felt like a new man, and today I am full of energy. I must admit that, at the end of the day yesterday, I was feeling relieved that we were able to swallow that mouthful of elephant and go home to relax with dinner and one of our favorite shows. 

So, although we have three trips to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) scheduled between now and my admission to the hospital, they are nicely spread out over the next 11 days. It is entirely possible, even likely, that I may need more transfusions in that time, but there are no other appointments to create potential conflicts that have to be surmounted. That's more like it. Back to bites of the elephant, instead of mouthfuls. We can do this, me and my Jill!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)