Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hot Hot Hot

Because I have so few white blood cells, my body decided to start cooking me from the inside. It started late on Friday, just after I watched my tuxedo-clad baby drive off to meet his date for the prom. Tempus fugit.

By Saturday morning I was back in the hospital, where I remain. Every 4 to 6 hours I spike a fever, despite being pumped with antibiotics and anti-fungals. No specific causes have been identified as responsible for the fevers. It's just that I'm in a state of neutropenia, low on infection-fighting cells, and my body's natural response is to use heat as a weapon.

Somehow, I manage to have an appetite and have been tolerating the hospital food. I am ruined.

Thanks everyone for following my story. I love reading your comments and emails. Any day now, blood cell production should kick in and these feverish days will be just a bad memory.

6 comments:

Ann said...

Keep eating those lemon ices to bring down your temperature. I'm sure there's some complicated equation floating around that determines the number of ices you have to eat in order to lower your temperature by X degrees. Chris probably knows it.

I have my fingers crossed that your counts will start coming up so you can get sprung from your gilded cage.

Ronni Gordon said...

I could have written this post too...except for the appetite. Sorry you're in the hospital. Hope you get out soon.

Anonymous said...

Stay positive and keep fighting! You'll be home soon.

susiegb said...

Did you mean your reputation was ruined because you had an appetite for hospital food? :)

All I can say is you must have been really hungry - or your body must really have needed some fuel!

Hope those white blood cells are starting to creep back in now.

Renee and Sam said...

You are much in my (our) thoughts Patty. I so which that we still lived nearby to help in some way...let us know if there is something we can do from afar. Fondly, Renee

jamie said...

Hope you can come home soon. I'm going to need some help figuring out this damn book,just when I think I figured it out the cats start speaking.I'm thinking of you.Jamie