2 units of blood: 1 unit of platelets

We are back at MD Anderson today. It always starts with blood work, vital signs, and a consultation to review the numbers.

WBC : 3.0

Hgb: 6.7

Platelet : 2

There are many numbers to be measured by and we hit an all-time low today with the Platelet counts. Hemoglobin below 8 means blood. We knew the moment that we saw the numbers we would be getting transfusions.

Feeling good otherwise

The body is a miraculous thing. The numbers are the things to warn us of dangerous things. For instance, right now with platelets this low, if she started any bleeding at all, she would not be able to clot. She also bruises super easy! The last time her numbers were super low, she had a number of bruises that could only be rationalized as “pressure” bruises. Just light pressure would cause the soft tissue to bruise.

The process for transfusions is one that you must understand the timing. Otherwise, you will be very frustrated. Once the nurse practitioner reviews the numbers, orders are put into the system. They will schedule an “appointment” for you at the transfusion center, however nothing happens until you check in. We have learned some time ago this secret.

Right after the review we walked down to the transfusion center and “checked in”. That tells the blood bank to begin working on blood and platelets. The normal timeframe from check-in until the blood is ready is 2-3 hours.

We spent way too much time the last 2 weeks eating the food in the hospital, so we escaped.

Tex-Mex food

Michele has been crazing Mexican food since we left the hospital on Friday. She was able to eat it today. We jetted down to Ninfas off of 45. I like to call this the old classic with reasonable prices. Not to be confused with the Original Ninfas on Navigation which is good but also enriching (for the owners). We are simple folks. A reasonably priced lunch menu and a familiar dining room. The restaurant is in the part of town where they have signs all over warning you not to leave valuables in your car. I have witnessed break-ins in the lot before, so I know they are serious.

The other thing about this restaurant is it has numerous dining areas. You can tell in their heyday that they hosted larger private parties. Those rooms are always dark and are closed off. For some reason, they always walk us to the back area of the restaurant. As we leave the front dining area, we both look around and wonder why we are ushered to the back when there are plenty of tables in the front. But then, it feels like home when we slide into the booth.

Michele said it hit the spot and was good for us to have a filling meal before coming back for the transfusions.

Shopping

We looked at our watch and figured we had another hour or more before we had to be back. An odd thing happened. She wanted to know if I needed anything from Home Depot. I was shocked and overjoyed. I didn’t need anything, but the thought goes a long way.

We ended up at Marshall’s to just “shop”. Normal is just going around and looking and trying on things. It was a wonderful trip. As we were in the checkout line, we got the call that they were ready for us.

The trip

Our doctor was concerned about the Mexico trip with how close it was going to be after this cycle. Concern was raised more by the Seizure she experienced. We knew when we saw the numbers that our recovery from the chemo was still in progress. We also had to consider that with a higher risk for infection and the CDC limits on flying into the country with a negative covid test, that we are up against the ropes.

Consulting with our doctor, we had to call off the trip. We are going to miss all the friends and family we were expecting to visit. Megan and Jonathan will be on the trip, but I want everyone to visit with them as they are truly growing into champions in their business.

We have two more cycles to go. We feel closer to the end of the major portion of treatment. If there are no delays, we will complete it by the end of July.

We will see you on the beaches of the world again as fast as we can.

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