[David M]

Hello Hopeful,

Thanks for your encouraging comments!

Yes, Covid was a bear. It made me feel terrible, and I never want to experience it again, if possible. I had mixed feelings about getting the vaccine, but my doctors recommended it, and I am hopeful that it will keep Covid away for a while, at least.

My HGB hovers between 9.0 and 10.5... I'd like to experience 11.0 once again, or better yet, 14.0!

About my brother... yes, it is beyond strange to me that my brother and I both have 1-in-a-multi-million blood problems. It is probably near the odds of lightning striking both of us on separate occasions. I have asked some "experts," and they assure me that there is no relationship between AA and myelofibrosis... but the Software Engineer in me says -- "Yeah, right."

I have had some genetic testing done over the years. I know when I was first diagnosed, there were many tests done, and they told me they saw no evidence of Myelodysplasia (I assume there was some genetic testing done there?). Later, I was tested for the JAK2 mutation, and that panel included several other genetic tests. Recently, for reasons unrelated to Aplastic Anemia, I was tested for the BRCA2 mutation (I had a cousin who had the mutation who had breast cancer; and BRCA2 runs in a family; and btw, my brother was positive for this one.). I was also tested for PNH. All these tests were negative. The doctors have always said my blood cells look healthy, there just aren't enough of them.

I do not have low EPO levels.

Speaking of exercise, I really do like to exercise. Once I get in a daily routine, I look forward to it. But I seem to have trouble getting into that daily routine at times. If something derails me, it is hard for me to startup again. But, it is time to try -- exercise is good medicine (and it's free)!

Thanks again,
David M