Gray News

 Today has been long.

My transfusion ends at 5 am and I am set to go home in the morning.

When the resident comes by at 6, he tells me they've ordered a blood draw to confirm I'm ok before leaving. But the hospital nurse doesn't have an order. My blood is not drawn until 8am. My hopes of making it to my students' belt testing today are waning. I'm looking forward to doctors' rounds, but these hopes are completely abandoned with their update; I will need to be here util tomorrow for imminent treatment..

Doctors' rounds are...interesting.

• First...blood test shows dramatic improvement in h&h levels. Whew! My hemoglobin is 9.0 and my hematocrit is 26. I am impressed. 

• Next...They've checked my parvo titer level(measures amount of parvo virus present) and they expect to see infected anemic patients with levels in the 1000's. My titer says its in the 1,000,000's. They will treat me with additional IVIG infusions. I was originally scheduled to have 2 total over 2 weeks. Now will have 4 total over the first 2 weeks, with potentially more to come as they will check the virus levels weekly. Basically, they will treat it until its gone, but everyone is noncommittal about how long it will take. Hmm...a gray area. I am not impressed.

"It's like this," Dr Piper explains. "if you start with a really BIG number, and the immunoglobulins cut the number in half, you're still at a really big number." Mine is the highest titer he's ever seen(too bad I'm not as competitive as I used to be).  

So I will repeat IVIG treatments, in hospital now and future treatments, until the parvo is irradiated.   

• Finally...Adam, the very helpful and informative transplant pharmacist returns after rounds because he knows I have more questions. He tells me I am the fourth person he's seen in 12 years with this type of parvo.  I am the first case for the transplant team in his three years at this hospital. The transplant doctors have been researching in the same way I have(online) for more info.  Uh-oh...add this to the gray news I am unimpressed with.  

I ask him about the gray area of when I'll feel better.  I have also read online that the efficacy of this treatment has not been proven. Adam patiently takes the time to explain what he knows. He tells me the immunoglobulins I'm being given are a medley of immune system boosters/antibodies from healthy donated blood. This non-specific medley is infused into my system and will boost the forces fighting the parvovirus.  He explains that it hasn't been verified by the FDA because severe incidents of human parvovirus are so rare. He firmly believes the IVIG will work, but admits that its not 100% guaranteed.

Although unimpressed by the unknown, I AM Impressed by his up-front-ness.I earnestly thank him and he goes about his day.

And I go about mine, sleeping and waiting for tests and treatment and looking up more details online.  I really don't come across anything especially helpful.  At least this validates the pharmacist's info about the rarity of my situation.

In the afternoon, I get the IVIG infusion, with the pre-treatment meds that knock me out for a while. I'm grateful for the physical and mental rest. My mind needs the break from the gray world it's floundering in.

I wake up long after dinner arrives, and I tally my impressed vs unimpressed list. Unimpressed is still ahead. 

I open my dinner tray and I grin at what I find...I ordered chicken Caesar salad, which they served, with a garden salad on the side...that does it, I am impressed by the irony and can't hold in my own laughter(I really wish I'd taken a pic...aargh!).

IMPRESSED has pulled even with UNIMPRESSED. 
That's a good outcome, and I decide to call it a night, ready for home in the morning.