Blood Test Results

I met my dear friend, Kay, for coffee at the Beveland Coffee House in Tigard on Wednesday morning. It is always such a treat to see her so we can "catch up" on what is going on in our lives. We were neighbors when we lived in Tigard about 30 years ago.

Then I drove to Newberg for a class reunion meeting. There were seven of us gals there. Our 45th reunion will be in September. We are so fortunate to be able to have it at Sandy and Merlin's beautiful place outside of Newberg. It is going to be very informal with barbecued hamburgers, polish sausages, salads, chip, desserts, and beverages. I am looking forward to it and seeing some people I haven't seen in many years. I have attended most of our reunions (we have them every 5 years) but missed the last one because of chemo treatments.

On the way home, I stopped by Kaiser to have my port flushed. It wasn't a good experience. I had never seen the oncology nurse that was going to help me........that should have been my first clue! But she was very nice and I enjoyed talking to her. When she was preparing me for my flush, she commented that she was having a hard time feeling my port. I told her that my surgeon had done a great job of implanting it so it barley showed. Sometimes people's ports stick out about 1/4 inch. 'Looks kind of like a half dollar sticking out of your chest. (My port is inserted between my breast and collar bone.) So after feeling around for it and saying that she thought she had it pinpointed, she told me to take a deep breath and she jabbed the needle (It looks like a giant push pin with a 3/4 inches needle) into my chest area. But she missed my port and said she would have to take the needle out. Then she called a gal to bring her another needle She changed her gloves and again started feeling around for my "little" port. Finally, she called the gal who had brought her the other needle and said she would like her to do it. Thank goodness! The new gal got it with the first jab. Now I am going to be nervous when I go for my next port flushing next month........

While there, I asked for the results of my blood tests that I had done the day before. I have it checked each month because my counts have been going down. Since I am not on any chemo, my counts should not be dropping. But they are continuing to drop. The advise nurse came in to talk to me and said that I am considered to be NEUTROPENIC. Here is a description of Neutropenia:

Neutropenia (deficiency) is a hematological disorder characterized by an abnormally low number of a type of white blood cell called a neutrophil. Neutrophils usually make up 50-70% of circulating white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against infections by destroying bacteria in the blood. Hence, patients with neutropenia are more susceptible to bacterial infections and, without prompt medical attention, the condition may become life-threatening.

What this means, is that I have to be careful about being around sick people,try not to get any cuts or scratches, no fresh fruits or vegetables, raw meats or fish, salads or cheese, or cold drinks, unless they are bottled. If I should get a fever over 101.0, I need to go to the hospital emergency immediately. All this sounds so much worse than it really is. First of all, I have been neutropenic for a some time because my blood counts have been low for a while. I even went
on a cruise with low counts and ate from the buffet, not to mention a five hour plane ride. I am around sick people occasionally. Not long ago, Denny had a terrible cold and I didn't get it and the grandkids have been sick when I have been around them. But what I am going to do now, is to be more cautious and smarter about the precautions I need to be taking. Some people with neutropenia would probably sit in their house to stay "safe" but I can not live my life like that. To me, that isn't "living." If I know someone is sick, I will stay away from them and I instead of eating healthy fresh fruits, vegetables and salads, I will just have to eat the greasy fried foods and baked goods! Oh, poor me!

Today I met Amy and Carolyn at Marshall's for shopping. Carolyn found the greatest spring jacket and some tee shirts and Amy found the cutest purse and light weight jacket . I found nothing....................which isn't like me! Then we met Eileen and Julie at Reedville Cafe for lunch. It was really nice. I hadn't eaten there for ages. Next month we will meet at the Helvetia Tavern for a huge hamburger and greasy home made french fries. (All LEGAL food for me to eat!) Can't wait.

Tonight I am going to go through my clothes and get rid for some of them. Carolyn's church is having a rummage sale in April so it is a perfect time for me to down size my closets. Gosh, guess it is good I didn't buy anything new today. Actually, my thinking is that if I get rid of something, it gives me room for something new!

Hope you all have a great weekend. It is spring break next week so we are planning on spending it with our grandkids. 'Looking forward to it.

Love to you all,

JO