Dear Friends and Family,
As promised yesterday, I will now continue with my story titled “The Bad.”
Two days after the Chinese takeout blood bath, we seemed to be back on the right path. Nancy sported yet another new IV, this time higher up in her right arm. We began preparing for our move to the mountains. We were also enjoying a visit with Linda, Nancy’s sister from Atlanta.
Thinking it would be a quick and routine visit, Linda took Nancy to her early weekly doctor’s appointment. (Jayna and I slept in, taking the morning off.) Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sleep long, as my phone rang at about 8:30 a.m. “Hey, Winnie. It’s Linda. Renae, the nurse practitioner at the clinic today, wants to know if you did something different this morning when you drew Nancy’s blood.”
Though I did go back to sleep, that was only after drawing Nancy’s labs before she went to the hospital. Since it saves time, I have become the “phlebotomist” as part of our daily routine.
“No, I don’t think so. What’s wrong?”
“Nancy’s hematocrit came back low—20%.”
“You’re kidding. That’s not low, that’s extremely low. It’s never been 20%, even when she was unable to make her own red cells. In fact, they gave her blood transfusions whenever it dipped below 24%.”
“They’re rechecking it right now. If it comes back the same, she’ll be given blood immediately. I’ll call back as soon as we hear something. Also, Nancy says to stop worrying—and to not wake Jayna up or say anything to her when she does get up.”
The next hour was filled with gloomy thoughts and a queasy nervousness. As I paced the floor, I wondered: Could Nancy have lost that much blood when her IV came out two days ago? Did I screw up when I was drawing the labs this morning? (The only other likely causes I could think of were disasters—like, “I’m sorry, Winnie. Nancy’s leukemia is back.”)
Practically, I hoped for a blood draw “snafu.” I wished that the recheck of her blood count would weigh in around 30%, lower than the 42% for the general public—but “normal” for Nancy. I searched for clues like a detective. I even examined the materials that I had put in the trash. I retraced every step from the entire morning looking for blood on the floor. And not surprising, I thought about Nancy and our future.
Yesterday, Nancy was tired. Still, she did homework with Jaret for over seven hours. I had been exhausted just watching. Nancy hadn’t worked like that since before her first hospitalization. I rationalized that her hematocrit couldn’t be 20%. Nancy would have fallen asleep by simply walking to the bathroom. Even simple things, like brushing her teeth, would have required too much effort. Yesterday, when Jaret proudly displayed his finished paper, Nancy’s smile matched Jaret’s. Neither of them appeared exhausted. The low number had to be from something I did.
Finally the phone rang. “It wasn’t you, Winnie. The redraw confirmed Nancy’s hematocrit—20.4%. We’ll be here a while. They’ve ordered two units of blood STAT. For so few red cells, they can’t believe how good she looks.”
Summary: Even this far removed from her transplant, we are reminded once again that Nancy’s health is fragile.
With love,
Winnie