Luckily, the fiscal year at Belaggio Jewelers ended on a great note. The store was up in revenue about ten percent higher than 1999 and xmas returns were far and few between. Always a great relief….returns suck. I did have some time to rest after Christmas between the 25th and the New Years holiday. Well earned days off by all. As far as I was concerned, I was feeling really low. Soooo tired. My visits to Hopkins were now being stretched to monthly visits. The first week in January we would be heading down to JHU hospital, right after new years. The trek began early in January. The weather down in Maryland in January was just so- so and the trek much more treacherous the day we drove down. My Dad and I weathered the storm and frigid cold ready for another round of the STI-571 protocol. We arrived on time and readied to meet with Dr. Miller. She looked at me and immediately took me by herself directly to the Phlebotomist. She knew that I was not well. Blood drawn, we would need a quick response.
The results came back soon and let Dr Miller know that her suspicions were correct. My Hemoglobin result came in very low. The average male has a correct Hemoglobin count of between 14k and 16k. This is the average count I would be shooting for. Not this day. My Hemoglobin count was literally 3k. Extremely low. Susceptible to disease of all kinds and passing out. Hemoglobin oxygenates your blood. It is necessary to maintain normal cell levels for a healthy life. Dr. Miller told my father and I that I would need to stay in the hospital and receive one, maybe two, units of Hemoglobin blood products before I could leave. This is why I was dragging so bad. No energy. Always trying to nap. Hopkins had special units for transfusions. Basically a gurney that you laid on while a thick IV style needle was placed in your arm to receive the blood products. It took about two hours to complete the process. Receive one unit, test the blood, receive the second unit, test the blood. When it was over, the transfusion blood oxyginated my blood to an acceptable level of around 7.5k.
After a short resting period to allow me to get my faculties in order, I was given a reprieve on the scheduled bone marrow aspiration. What a relief! The Phlebotomist had also taken all of the blood needed for my new study and my CBC results were great. WBC count still reducing, red cells a little too low but Hemoglobin acceptable enough to go home. Dr. Miller would need to see me in two weeks again. Sooner than I had hoped. I was told that Dr. Topolsky wanted see me too. I was exhausted but needed a quick stop at O’Bricky’s for some crabs and a Coke. Always makes the trip a little better. There are always ups and downs when being treated for cancer…for Leukemia. There was no choice. Roll with the punches and hope for the best. And sleep. I needed sleep. My Dad would drive me home and after a quick rundown for Lor, I would be hitting my pillow. Better days ahead. They’re definitely coming…Yep.
Next up: Gleevec… the Miracle Drug
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