T+16 How will I cope?

BOX SCORE




Element

Current

Std. Range

Trend

Hemoglobin

9.6

13-17

^

Platelets

169

140-375

^

ANC

3190

1800-8300

v

Wow! What was that?? Yesterday, we had no medical stuff AT ALL! That was weird. We did a curbside grocery pickup. We drove to the Knight Center clinic, just so we were sure we could find it for our clinic visit this morning. We went for a walk along Terwilliger Boulevard. It was almost like, dare I say it, a day off! 

If you have never visited Marquam Hill, you don't know what lost really is. This is the most amazing tangle of winding roads that you can imagine. Most of the tangle is surrounded by gorgeous wooded areas...but that only adds to the confusion when you are trying to navigate streets and roads that disappear 25 yards ahead. I finally decided to get out my phone and get help from Google maps. You know what else Marquam Hill has? Very spotty cell coverage. Might as well throw the iPhone out the window!!

We did enjoy our tour, and the scenery is so lovely. There was just enough cell coverage from time to time to get us home again. 

As we spotted familiar road names and different buildings, Jill and I realized that we were both residents of this area at the same time. I was in dental school from 1967 to 1971, and Jill attended Lewis and Clark College from 1968 to 1972. When we figured that out, we began seeing buildings and street names that brought back memories of those years. We had so many memories of the area that were similar. It was fun to reminisce, separately but together. Stories to tell and the joy of suddenly seeing sights that sparked the next memory. 

Much of the area has changed little, but the medical campus of OHSU is mind blowing. I don't know how this very steep hill can support all of the buildings that have been built here in the past 50+ years. And they are continuing apace with construction projects. I remarked to one of the nurses in the hospital that I didn't understand why such a large university was built on such a steep hill. She told me that 20 acres of property was donated to the city or state (don't remember which) in 1917 by the Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Co. and an 88-acre tract was donated by the family of C.S. Jackson, former publisher of the Oregon Journal. I tell you what, here's a link to the whole history of OHSU. It is fascinating. 

Gradually, we are learning/remembering our way around this area, and by the end of summer we may even be comfortable here. But we both agree, we'd rather live in Dallas! 

Today's clinic visit went well. Check out the Box Score above. You will notice that my ANC is well into the normal range, a tad lower than it was on Wednesday, but that is expected, because I am no longer receiving the white cell booster. What is astonishing to me is that it only dropped 110 points, whereas I am accustomed to drops of several hundred points. Notice too that my platelets are in the standard range. That hasn't happened since early February. 

Hemoglobin is the slowest datum to change. Red blood cells (RBCs) have a lifespan of about 30 days, whereas platelets have a lifespan of about 72 hours. So, the bone marrow produces new RBCs at a much more leisurely pace, and as all of my leukemia students here on the blog know, hemoglobin resides in RBCs. Nevertheless, my hemoglobin rose from 7.9 on Wednesday to 9.6 today. That's a huge jump, but still, the last time my hemoglobin was in the standard range was June 30, 2022. 

So, my conclusion is that the transplant cells are kicking in and doing what any normal bone marrow cells are supposed to do. My impression was confirmed by Dr.  Meyers, when we met with her today. We have far to go, but preliminary signs are very encouraging; again confirmed by the good doctor. We also discussed some questions about some of my meds today, and Jill got a nice long list of foods that contain magnesium, since the one infusion service I needed today was magnesium. One of the anti-GVHD (Graft Versus Host Disease) drugs that I am receiving tends to deplete magnesium. 

So I guess I will be on a high magnesium diet. I hope I can choke those foods down: dark chocolate, bananas, cashews, dry roasted peanuts, roasted almonds, avocado, cooked tuna, beans, lentils. How will I cope? 

 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

 

 

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