Day +7

It turned out last night that my fever spiked at 101.2°. They drew blood and gave me a stronger antibiotic. When the tests showed bacteria in my blood, they gave me a still stronger antibiotic. By morning, my temperature was in the 99°+ range. Today turned out to be my hardest physically so far. I had a headache all day that Tylenol didn’t seem to touch and really low energy. I wound up sleeping much of the day and didn’t eat anything. The fact that I lay in bed all day and didn’t manage to get today’s paper read is a pretty good indicator of how wiped I felt. While it was a hard day, it wasn’t terrible and I still consider that I’ve had it pretty easy, so I’m not complaining. When I told the doctors this morning about the theory that some nurses had that spiking a fever in the hospital makes it less likely that it will happen at home, they both laughed and said that old wives tales die hard.

I got another platelet transfusion today, and with a little luck, it will be my last. However, fevers seem to consume platelets, so it’s possible I’ll need another transfusion tomorrow.

WBC 0.1
Hgb 8.9
Plt 16 (31 after transfusion)
ANC 0.0

I think I can hear the train approaching …