Counting the Days

I didn't say much about the stem cell procedure. It was pretty simple. I just laid there and received my cells back. It put a funky taste in my mouth so I ate some Jolly Ranchers. The only thing intense about it was how there were six fucking people there besides me. Made it feel a little less routine and harmless!

Now we are into positive days. From here we count a lot of things. For example, my blood counts are supposed to trend down until they just about zero out around day two or three. By "counts" I mean things like WBC, ANC, HTC and PLTs. Here's the skinny:

WBC: White Blood Cell Count (Normal Reference Range: 4.5 - 11)
White blood cells help you fight infection. Not having these is what keeps me in the bubble. As of Day +3 (my 10th day of actual incanceration) this number has gone from 0.6 to 0.1. Yikes! But this nadir is part of the plan.

ANC: Absolute Neutrophil Count (Normal Reference Range: 1.8 - 7.7)
Neutrophils are a kind of white blood cell that fight off infection. This is where the word "neutropenic" comes from and this count is the single most determining factor in my release. It needs to be above 1 (or 1000, depending on how they report it) and trending up. My counts could be inflated a bit falsely because I am on a drug that encourages mass production of these puppies. But fear not, they are all dead or dying. Day 3 count: 0.03.

HTC: Hematocrits (Normal Reference Range: 41 - 53)
Red blood cells, basically. Low hematocrit counts (below 22ish) mean you get blood transfusions. Symptoms of low HTC counts include anemia and feeling like FUCKING ZOMBIE DEATH. Today's verdict: 26.4.

PLTs: Platelets (Normal Reference Range: 150 - 400)
Platelets help your blood coagulate, so that when you get cut, you don't just spurt all your needed life juices all over the place until you DIE. I need to not get cut in the near future. This is part of the reason why they are hospitalizing me also. At least if I am injured I am already here... my chances fare much better that way. Anyway as these counts plummet (below 20) they will also give me platelet transfusions. Hopefully low platelets will not be a huge problem. Currently the number is 49.

And that's how you superchemo.