In the beginning of May, 2022, I contracted Covid 19 from a triple-vaxxed coworker. I was a little shocked - I had gone two years into the p(l)andemic, following the Zelenko protocol, both Covid free and vaccine free. Not to mention flu and cold free. Whatever. I felt healthy and excited for the future.
That future included attending the "Today's Dietitian" Spring Symposium in Florida. It took 10 days to finally get a negative test result, but I had plenty of time since I wasn't going to the symposium until late May.
But somehow I wasn't feeling healthy and I couldn't put my finger on the problem. I went to Florida, and once there, chalked up my exhaustion to the heat. I was losing my ability to focus and by the final day, I felt completely done in. I couldn't wait to get home.
The flight landed at LAX at night (never fly in during daylight - LA is an ugly city. It's the lights at night that make the magic!) and I hung in there long enough to get home. I actually went to work the next day, and went the distance (8 hours). But something was wrong and I knew it. I had my CBC panel drawn (white and red blood cell levels) and much to my horror, had a Hgb (hemoglobin) of 5.3. I needed a blood transfusion ASAP.
Two bags of blood infusion later, I was on the road to recovery. But was I? Long story short, I went from the frying plan into the fryer. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a really bad version of the blood cancer, had set in after years of suffering from polycythemia vera (creation of excess platelets). The response: Chemo.
I began this medication regime (chemo in pill and IV form) at 170 lbs. That was August, 2022. By November, 2022, I was just below 100 lbs. No appetite and nausea non-stop. Then I went into remission and a suspicious shadow on the CT scan made my oncologist fear the AML had centered in the spleen. That meant the spleen had to go and once out, revealed that repeated blood transfusions had led to a build up of iron in the spleen. No cancer, thank G-d, but a setback towards the ultimate goal: Bone Marrow Transplant.
It's all lined up - City of Hope, bone marrow donor (anonymous) and believe or or not, an improved appetite and no nausea. Guess what - the spleen was holding me back and now I can't eat enough. Just in time for Passover. Oy vey.
The Bone Marrow Transplant is set for May (G-d willing and the creek don't rise!), a year after this madness started. Now I am gaining weight and trying to regain my strength (I walk with a cherry red walker, complete with seat and storage compartment) from an overall weakness. I fainted twice and collapsed twice as well. My oncologists were starting to question if I would survive the treatment and encouraged me to get stronger fast. Like yesterday.
To be continued.
