My six month visit to the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Comprehensive Cancer Center occurred on February 3, 2020. It was, generally and succinctly speaking, uneventful, other than meeting a new PA for the first time. Her name is Laura Welsh and she is a product of the Wake Forest PA school right here in Winston-Salem. Buy local, right?
Laura is affable and seems quite competent despite her youth - she just graduated 6 months ago from PA school. She is my new PA since my former one has moved on to being a stay-at-home mom. I look forward to many more encounters with Laura. Dr. Ellis was making rounds with her in-patients during my visit so I did not see her.
OK, let's do the numbers (in my best Kai Ryssdal voice, commentator from Marketplace, an economic/financial radio show on my local NPR station). WBC count is down from 19.4K to 16.4K, a drop of 3K that must be the result of Brexit or the impeachment hearings, clearly some political link. RBC count down slightly from 4.95K to 4.91K, a harbinger of slower growth but not necessarily a looming recession. Platelets, clotters in layman's terms, were up from 146K to 164K, a sure sign that bleeding out is not in my immediate future. Lymphs, a subset of WBCs, were down by 900, an insignificant drop maybe caused by investor nervousness over the inverted yield curve. The big story is the drop in neutrophils, from 4.3K to 2.3K and the lowest ever posted for my front line of defense against pathogens. Despite this lackluster performance by by neuts, they did serve me well by keeping me healthy while my wife had the B type flu in late January. Interestingly, my lymphs now make up 82% of my total blood plasma, a new high. Lymph investors should consider selling now because there's not much more room for growth in this sector of the blood economy.
Thinking back to when I was first diagnosed with this malady, in June of 2015, the initial assessment was that I would live for about 7 years. It's sobering to a degree to think that under that prognosis I would now only have 2 years left to live. Isn't it odd how time expands and dilates based on life situations? In June 2015, seven years seemed like a long time to get things done. But now in February 2020, two years isn't time enough to finish this damn blog. Here's a profound question: Should this blog's end be co-terminal with mine or should I end it definitively at some prior time? What if I get hit by a bus one day next week? What if I have a stroke or heart attack and croak before either I end this blog intentionally or my LGLL/CLL kills me? I think I will put those thoughts on the shelf for now although my high blood pressure may be a cause for concern. I'm trying to get that under control now with hydrochlorthiazide or HCTZ, a diuretic that doesn't seem to be making me pee more or have much effect on my HBP. Another brick in the wall!
On a more sublime topic, after my last visit I briefly waxed philosophical about what role I could play, if any, in bringing attention to this malady. LGLL is a very rate form of leukemia so doesn't get a lot of press in medical circles, outside of UVA, where the discoverer works - Dr. Loughran, AKA, the Wizard. Without suffering any noticeable negative effects of the disease, could I be a worthy ambassador? Maybe my good health would allow me the physical energy and resources unavailable to someone more progressed in the disease and undergoing treatment. They would certainly need to preserve as much of their energy in fighting off the effects of chemo therapy and the disease itself. Something to consider and maybe move closer to the front of my thought processes. Stay tuned on that front.
The other health issue I have going on in my life currently is my vision going to shit. I have been told for the last 10+ years that I have cataracts growing in my eyes. Should I blame this on the LGLL? Not likely a cause and effect. Over the last year, I have begun to notice significant, symptomatic changes in my vision that have pushed me to the point of scheduling a cataract surgery evaluation with the Duke Eye Center gurus here in WS. I'll get that eval done on February 28 and based on the results, schedule the procedure. Looks like new lenses are in my immediate future. That would be helpful, otherwise this blog may end prematurely because I can't see the effing screen!
