So can this be dangerous? Yes of course. But we have a top group of professionals here who have been doing this for years and they really do know what they are doing. They know what to look for and what to do for us, if necessary.
So I just couldn’t help putting a little 1980’s video in here that seemed appropriate. Rest assured I am in no danger. But who could resist a video with Kenny Loggins and Tom Cruise? Enjoy and you are welcome.
So the time we spend in isolation the nurses are constantly monitoring us. We get a wake up call at about 7:00 for a morning infusion of what I think is steroids. I base this on the way it makes my food taste. We also get blood pressure tests and temps taken as well as blood drawn from our central line. See that is why it is not such a big deal to have that octopus sticking out of my neck. Makes life very easy.
Sometime in the early afternoon we get our blood results back from Dr. Federenko, and he lets us know how we are doing. There are certain things he is looking for. Remember when we were put into these cells, our blood numbers were already dropping. As we stay here they will continue to drop, and at some point they will start to go up! When things are looking good, that is when they will open the doors and we can have a walk outside. It doesn’t mean we are done, but at least we can leave our room for short periods of time and have a walk on the grounds. All masked up of course!
So what are we looking for? Mainly three things are the important part of our blood work evaluation:
Hemoglobin: This is what transports oxygen in our blood. Normal range is 120-160. Mine continued to drop 112, 108, 104 but then bumped up to 115 and stabilized at 108 where it has been for three days.
Leukocytes: Fancy word for white blood cells. They help regulate immune system. Normal range is 4-10. On day +1 I was at 1.32, then dropped to .29, then .13, then .1. then .009, .009 and rose on day +7 to .11
Platelets: These are tiny cells in your blood that help your body form clots when needed. Normal range for platelets is 150-400. I started out on Day +1 at.97, then dropped to ,89, then .65, then .51 and on day +5 was sitting at .21.
At that point Dr. Federenko said he thought it was a good idea for me to get an infusion of platelets to help my numbers and he ordered them right away. That seemed to do the trick. The next day my platelet count went up to .38 and now at day +7 is at 27. Everyone seems happy about the numbers
Well there they are my little platelets. Not too much to see but they did the trick. You would have thought they would have perked me right up. Actually the opposite was true. I was down for most of the rest of the day. ISO can be exhausting!
Remember the important part is that we do want the numbers to drop. We actually don’t want to be in in the “Danger Zone”. We are not. My numbers are steadily going up on their own now, and I am told the doors to ISO may open tomorrow or maybe even the next day. Either way, I am totally happy with that. Things are going well, and I could not be happier with my progress. I totally expected to be in ISO for 10 days and it looks like it might be something more like 7 or 8. Can’t complain about that!