Headed to Iowa City last Friday to get started on my stem cell transplant stuff....first went and toured the blood center where they would be extracting the stem cells. They had to check my veins to see if they were big enough to get blood from (they were not). I am thankful for that because if they take the blood from your arms you have to keep them still for 10 hours (5 hours each of the two days) and the nurses even have to board up your arms and help you go to the bathroom to keep the arms straight. Instead I will have a pic line in my neck, meaning my arms will be free. Then I went down and did labs (blood work) and then met with my nurse practitioner. From there I found out that my platelets were low and my liver enzymes were high. They thought it was a mistake so they did the test a second time in a row, same results, so then they sent the blood work up to have a doctor look at it under a microscope to make sure there wasnt an error and there was not. This is particularly troubling to the doctors because my platelets were fine on 7/2, so they should not go back down (the chemo impacts the blood, but once it recovers, it should not be impacted again without another treatment). They asked if I had any infections or changes and I havent, so they are not sure whats wrong. They sent me home after getting a third sample of blood so they could run tests and cultures on it. The tests all came back negative, so no infection. So they waited a week and then had me come back yesterday to check if the blood had improved on its own, however it still hasnt, so they are stumped. They are having me come in tomorrow for another bone marrow biopsy to help them narrow down why my levels might be so low. This is not my favorite test (any cancer patient would tell you they are no fun). So, I asked my doctor why we would need it. She shared that this will help her check the blood at the original source (the bone marrow) and see if the platelets are originally high. If they are low in the bone marrow, that would signal that the chemo is still impacting my numbers and we just need to wait for them to come up, if they are high in the marrow, that would signal that my immune system is attacking them after they are released for some reason and warrant further testing. At this point the doctor and nurses were all shocked with my numbers and have no explanation. I hate this unknown, another hidden fear to worry about and not understand. I hate that this holds me back from the stem cell transplant and means that in the mean time my cancer can come back potentially. I am very scared and hate that I am never the text book patient. I just want to get better. Thank goodness I have my friends and family to support me AND distract me while we wait. I have the benefit this Saturday at Knights of Columbus, I have the battle of the bands to go to at Uptown Friday Nights, and there is the rock for the cure concert as well at Tailgators on Saturday. These are all great things that will keep me happy and busy (thank goodness with something good for a change). Love you all, good night. I am ready to go dream of the life to come after this fight.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 04:19:07 +0000
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