Rest of the Week Appointments

Thursday was mainly lab and then IgG infusion. IgG is a part of the immune system that helps to fight viruses. I was low on it, so they decided to give me an infusion of it. It takes about 5-6 hours to get it infused. One of the reasons is because it is so expensive that they do not order it from the pharmacy until you get there. That takes about an hour. Plus you have to take premeds of Benedryl and Tylenol so that you don't get a reaction to IgG.

Friday started out with platelets, so that I could do a lumbar puncture in the afternoon. To get a lumbar punture your platelets have to be above 50. Mine have been hanging out around 25-35. I am starting to think that my bone marrow is damaged from the chemo and I do really need this transplant. I have not been getting any chemo and my platelets still are not coming back up. I also had a pulmonary consult, to make sure my lungs have truly recovered from the ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) that had me intubated for 10 days and in the ICU for 3 weeks.

On a positive note...a guy that works down in the cafe at the SCCA that I have seen and chatted with throughout my treatment noticed that my hair is growing back in and that I wasn't wearing a hat. I told him that it was nice to have hair, but it would soon fall out again. He asked why and I told him that I was getting a transplant. He said in amazement, "you have to get a transplant after all that you've already had to do." I said, "yup." He told me that he knew that he could tell that I was a strong person from the beginning. He told me that he thought I never looked sick, I looked strong. It was nice hearing that from a stranger. From the outside looking in-I look like a strong person. It feels good that I look strong even when I feel weak. I can do this!