Day 35

Hemeglobin 9.9
Platelets 17
WBC 0.1
Creatinine 1.19

Today there was a bit of excitement around here.  I was sleeping when the nurse began infusing platelets around 1030.  A little after 1100 I woke up; it felt like there was an elephant sitting on my chest and my entire body itched like crazy.  I started coughing and I realized what was going on:  I was having an allergic reaction to the platelets for the first time.  Thirty seconds later I had nurses and doctors running in and out while I sat on the edge of the bed wheezing.  The platelets caused a systemic allergic reaction, much like someone with food allergies after eating a peanut.  My bronchi became inflamed and started tightening up, making it difficult to breathe and my entire body broke out in hives.  They gave me benadryl and corticosteroids to help calm the reaction and paged respiratory therapy stat.  They showed up after a couple minutes and gave me a nebulizer of albuterol to open my airways.  The drugs made me sleepy but I felt better fast.

Reactions to blood products are common and are more likely to occur the more blood products you receive.  After I recovered they drew my blood for testing against the platelets I received to see what went wrong.  They found that the platelets themselves were not the problem.  There was also no trace of bacteria in the platelets that could've caused the reaction.  The lab figured that it was caused by a protein impurity, something that can happen from time to time.  A more aggressive pre-infusion medication plan should help prevent a future reaction.

Otherwise things remain well.

Day XXXIV

Hemoglobin 7.5
Platelets 24
WBC 0.1
Creatinine 1.27

I've had this happen in the past:  I will wake up with a random song stuck in my head.  Any song, even ones I don't particularly like.  And it happens on days when I wake up without an alarm or other input, so I don't think the song is suggested to me while I sleep.  Today it was "Octopus's Garden" by the Beatles.  It used to happen several times a week, but it's been a few months.  It's weird, I've been meaning to write them down and look for a pattern.

Two packets of blood today and some platelets.  Other things are going well, my muscle pain is less today.  My eyesight has also been improving in my right eye.  I still have the floater in my left, but reading things at a close distance has become a lot easier.

I've started reading, my first non-textbook in probably five years:  "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams.  It's an autobiography that focuses on Adams' views on how to educate a man.  It topped Modern Library's list of best non-fiction books of the 20th century.  Hopefully I'll enjoy it.

Day 33

Hemoglobin 8.1
Platelets 33
WBC 0.1

That's my namecard outside the door to my room.  I've been considered "Name Alert" for about a week now, meaning that two patients in the same ward have similar last names and doctors, etc need to not be fooled. I'm surprised at how often this is an issue.  Especially at first, I had several doctors and technicians enter my room only to discover I'm not who they're looking for.  Obviously doctors like Oran know me and don't make this sort of mistake.  But the doctors who make inpatient rounds for different services are regularly changing, and I'm often meeting new people.  Today my weekend endocrinologist came in and told me she walked into my doppleganger's room by mistake.  It's a relief how quickly any mistake is realized.  The worst consequence I've experienced has been receiving the wrong food tray.  Safeguards like bar coded patient wristbands help protect from serious mistakes.

Drs. Oran and Zilla outlined their plan for me today.  I will have a biopsy done around day 21.  It could be a few days earlier depending on how quickly my counts return.  If the biopsy is clear of blasts and my health remains well I will be "rushed" to the transplant ward.  Not literally, but the doctors agree there should be no unnecessary delays and things should happen quickly.  That's what I was hoping they'd say, although I would've enjoyed being home for a week.

One of the antibiotics I take can cause muscle soreness, so I've been switched off it and onto a penicillin.  We'll see if that helps.  Other things are about the same.  I received blood products yesterday so I'm feeling energetic today.  But since my counts are up today I didn't get any blood products, so tomorrow I'll be sleepy.