Somedays I wake up thinking this was all a dream. I slept too long and I started dreaming up an unthinkable situation where my body has decided to go out of whack.
Then I realise, that it wasn’t a horrible dream and I’m not waking up extra early to beat the traffic to work, but because it takes me extra long to have a shower with my central line in place and also, to beat the uncles and aunties at the hospital for an early appointment with my doctor. DO NOT underestimate them. They may look old or tired but dang it they get there before me every time!
This morning, however, I (intentionally) forgot I was sick and I looked forward to spending my 26th birthday with my loved ones.
The past few weeks have put me on a never-ending roller coaster ride of emotions. For about 2 weeks, my white cell count was improving so well. It went above 4×10^9L, which is within the range of what a healthy person should have (normal range: 4 – 10×10^9L). So of course I gave myself (extra) permission to have sashimi and sushi. Mmm.. sashimi.. good..
My haemoglobin was pretty stable and my platelets dropped as usual. The rise in my white cell count gave me hope, as there was a slight indication that the ATG treatment had worked.
Fast forward to the future!
Fast forward to this week and my white blood cell count has dropped to 1.53×10^9L. So we’re back to anticipating the need for a bone marrow transplant.
Lately, my haemoglobin level has been dropping more rapidly than usual and my platelets have been mostly stable. The doctor suspected I may have been infected with a virus so he ran a test to confirm. Turns out I have a cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Most healthy people have it without it affecting them more than to cause flu-like symptoms. But because my immune system has been weakened by medication, it can be detrimental to my body. I’ve been feeling extra extra weak than usual no thanks to this virus 😦
I feel you Bugs.. I feel you
There is a possibility that the ATG treatment worked but the virus is suppressing the growth of my blood cells, particularly the red blood cells (haemoglobin) and white blood cells. My doc’s put me on a high dose antiviral so hopefully that’ll eradicate the virus and my blood counts will go up! #theresstillhope #anewhope #starwars #skywalker #chewie #iforgetwhatiwastalkingabout
In the meantime, my dad is being tested for fitness as a bone marrow donor. They are also doing one (hopefully last) international search for a better matched donor. Maybe this time someone will say yes.
But for now, I will have cake, family and friends. And cookies. Can’t miss out on birthday cookies.
Baby: Ooh candle.. wait this feels like a trap.. I’m not ready for this photo! It’s a trap! Abort! Abort!
And if you haven’t already, meet me at the beginning: https://beebstory.wordpress.com/2016/01/18/first-blog-post/
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