Day +1, Wednesday

WE ARE AT DAY +1 !! It’s an entire NEW counting system!! I’ve been getting to know my cells for 24 hours now – it is SO COOL! Just had to say that!

In other news, today I pulled out Excel. It’s something that I normally only use to plan backpacking trips, but once I heard my White Blood Count (responsible for fighting infection) and Absolute Neutrophil Count (a sub type of the WBC), I was floored and wanted to keep track.

My counts have been trending down, a function of the chemo; but overnight, they dipped to a (new but temporary) record low for my Absolute Neutrophils of 0.77. Historically low counts have just been my thing, true for many with GATA2. But as a patient, it is fascinating to experience these changes daily.

Throughout the day, I’ve had medical folks checking in on me to see how I was feeling, or if I was noticing ANY changes (I did tell Martha about the TP. She laughed and said she understood). I appreciate their concern – they ask because they know more about what’s happening in my body than I do. And they know what to look for, where as with me…well, I don’t. I’ve been told to report everything.

Everything?

Yes, everything.

So I’m going to need to very quickly get over any sort of awkward embarrassment with my Team. That shouldn’t be too difficult, as I was the one whose POTD was a roll of TP (yet again, a sign of 2020).

Overall I’m doing OK. I’ve had a headache that has been slowing building throughout the afternoon. I can feel a flush in my cheeks, forehead and ears. I get to take Tylenol to help manage discomfort and my Team will just be on the look out for any signs of a temperature. And the thing is, is this could just be a function of what it feels like to have my blood counts drop quickly. It may not even be an infection….it’s hard to tell because there is SO MUCH happening in my body right now.

That’s why I’m going to trust my Team, report everything, listen to them, and remind myself of the words Jen, my awesome social worker assured me with earlier today,

“You have shown over and over again that you can do hard things.”

Finally, I ended tonight on an upswing – chatting with both my sister (Hi KK!) and Andy. I’m so thankful for my family, friends and donor. And Tylenol. And soft TP.