Every time I go to chemo, I get weighed, and have my temp, oxygen and blood pressure checked. Then a nurse comes in and injects the IV and draws some blood. The blood goes to the lab where they check to make sure my levels are safe for me to get the chemo treatment. Last Thursday, my hemoglobin level was low but safe enough for me to still get treatment. The nurse contacted the doctor who thought it was low enough that I should a blood transfusion so that my levels would be boosted enough to be safe the following week. I do as I am told, so I took the day off on Friday and headed to Central DuPage Hospital for the day.
Interestingly, the entire experience was not that much different than a chemo treatment. I went in and sat in a recliner. A nurse took my temp. and blood pressure and inserted an IV into my arm. An order was placed for my A + blood and I waited a little while and then when the blood arrived, the nurse hooked me up. Much like chemo, there was no strange feeling when some stranger's processed hemoglobin began its trek through my veins. I graded some papers, read some of my book, surfed the internet, watched t.v., ate a hospital lunch and even tried to take a little snooze. Six hours later, I drove myself home. No big whoop.
It seems strange that I wouldn't feel any different. I had just had a transplant for God's sake! Shouldn't I feel something? I was hoping the new blood that hadn't given me any ill side-effects would give me a burst of energy, but sadly, my Saturday was much like the others - spent feeling weak and very tired and sleeping a lot. Luckily, Sundays are better and so far I am feeling able to go back to work on Mondays.
I want to give a special thank you to any and all of you who have ever donated blood. It is thanks to you that I was able to be given this gift to help me feel better. I am unsure if I will need another transfusion in the future. Right now I am in between treatments 2 and 3 out of 12, so I can only guess that in 8 more treatments my blood counts may be low again. If need be, I'll do what I have to do. Just rest assured that the process was painless, I had no side-effects and I feel relieved knowing the safe-guards that are in place to check for diseases these days. On top of that, the blood I received was hemoglobin only, which causes it to be even further processed, which somehow makes me feel safer.
A special thanks to my unknown donor, without whom my hemoglobin would still be a 7.9 instead of a normal 22.0. Also, a special thanks to all of the nurses with whom I have been in contact since this ordeal began. I have always had the utmost respect for nurses since the births of my children, but to stay positive in a cancer ward and with people who need life-saving treatment is tremendous! Their happiness and positivity is contagious and you can't help but feel upbeat when you are around them. Thanks ladies.
1 comment:
Glad that that went well (as well as could be expected)!
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