Here is a brief update on my blood:
Things have been going well! My red and white counts have been holding steady and my platelets have been rising little by little. I did have a little scare two weeks ago and went to the emergency room with some concerning flu symptoms, but was thrilled to find out when I got there that it was JUST a flu and nothing more serious. Even better was that my white count boosted way up to almost 7.0 to fight whatever was going on in my system. My doctors said it was a great sign that my white cells could respond like that on their own, so the 6 hours in the ER on a Friday night was worth it (sort of).
When I went back to the doctor last week, my counts were:
White: 3.1
Hematocrit: 29.8
Platelets: 62 (best they've ever been!)
It has been almost 4 months since my last blood transfusion and about 2.5 months since my last platelet transfusion. Great news, so knock on wood, please!
At this point, it has been 6 months since my ATG treatment and my doctor thinks I'm ready to start tapering off my cyclosporine. This is going to be a VERY slow process (probably a year or more) and I may go visit Dr. Neal Young at the National Institute of Health for his opinion on how best to enter into the maintenance phase of my disease. Getting off my medicine is scary but necessary and I'm very happy with the progress I've made.
So, 2010 is wrapping up quite nicely, with some encouraging news about my health and a beautiful new baby Kilian! It has certainly been a year of incredible highs and the lowest lows. I think I'd like for 2011 to be a little more medium, but this year has taught me how to deal with whatever life throws at me and that I have a lot of wonderful people around to help me in big and small ways.
Thanks, and Happy New Year!
