People keep asking me if I'm getting bored in the hospital. And yes, it's a fairly boring place. But I have all kinds of things to do here. I have many electronic devices, skeins of yarn, several books both on my kindle and in the flesh, coloring books and pencils and pens, and wigs to try on. But I've found that my attention is generally monopolized by my body. Besides being generally exhausted to the point where I need a nap after coloring for five minutes, there's also a new symptom every day to try and understand and cope with. One day it's a hemorrhoid. The next day, and actually every day lately, it's pulling out wads of hair from my head. And a couple days ago I noticed something new.
Bone pain. At first it just felt like a soreness. Walking around with Brent on Monday I felt like leg day was a few days past but I worked out so hard I got that really achey residual soreness. I don't actually have a "leg day," but that's how I imagine it. Anyway, yesterday the pain was more distinctive. A deep ache in my pelvis, my left femur, and less so my right femur. Dr. Gorden, who is filling in for Dr. Patil, informed me that this is a sign that my bone marrow is starting to ramp up on blood production. The factory has been rebuilt! Or is being rebuilt.
It's lining up with some changes in my CBC. Yesterday, after my WBC was flatlined at 0.7, it came up to 0.9. And today it was a solid 1.0. Normal would be at least 3.5, so I have a ways to go. Units are billions of cells per liter. The number the Hem/Onc team is really keeping an eye on is my neutrophil count. Neutrophils are the infection fighting white blood cells, and my neutrophil count has to be a certain number before I can go home. I can't remember exactly what that number is.
So I have to say, after my last post, I got so many stories and helpful hints about hemorrhoids, expressed mainly in private. I think it's pretty interesting what does and does not elicit sympathy from fellow human beings. I learned that leukemia is way up there. But turns out, hemorrhoids are almost on par with cancer. I've noticed there's not nearly so much sympathy for something like the common cold. But in terms of general suffering, I think I'd gladly take a hemorrhoid over a cold.
What do you think gets too little or too much sympathy?
And since I haven't posted a picture of myself in a couple days, this is the latest. My hair is noticeably thinner when I touch it, but I'm not seeing huge bald patches yet. So I'll hang on for at least one more day.
Bone pain. At first it just felt like a soreness. Walking around with Brent on Monday I felt like leg day was a few days past but I worked out so hard I got that really achey residual soreness. I don't actually have a "leg day," but that's how I imagine it. Anyway, yesterday the pain was more distinctive. A deep ache in my pelvis, my left femur, and less so my right femur. Dr. Gorden, who is filling in for Dr. Patil, informed me that this is a sign that my bone marrow is starting to ramp up on blood production. The factory has been rebuilt! Or is being rebuilt.
It's lining up with some changes in my CBC. Yesterday, after my WBC was flatlined at 0.7, it came up to 0.9. And today it was a solid 1.0. Normal would be at least 3.5, so I have a ways to go. Units are billions of cells per liter. The number the Hem/Onc team is really keeping an eye on is my neutrophil count. Neutrophils are the infection fighting white blood cells, and my neutrophil count has to be a certain number before I can go home. I can't remember exactly what that number is.
 |
| The sign that's been hanging on my door for an eternity |
What do you think gets too little or too much sympathy?
And since I haven't posted a picture of myself in a couple days, this is the latest. My hair is noticeably thinner when I touch it, but I'm not seeing huge bald patches yet. So I'll hang on for at least one more day.
Comments
Post a Comment