[David M]

Hello All,

It is hard to believe, but it is once again time for a yearly update on my "story."

Not a lot to report at this point in 2023, and of course, that is a good thing! We love stability and consistency here!

Healthwise, I feel pretty good overall. I haven't been sick much in the last year -- just a sinus infection or two, maybe a stomach bug, but not much more than that. I have not had abnormal bruising or bleeding. My stamina and endurance levels seem to be less than they were, but that change has been slight. I notice it most when I try to exert myself, and way before I think I ought to, I tire out and have to rest -- so frustrating! But overall, I can't complain.

My blood counts in the last year have sort of held their own... maybe even some slight improvement (can we do that?) in the platelets (hovering in the 80K range for the past year and a half!).

Below are counts from my last 3 CBCs (11/3/22, 5/8/23, 7/18/23):
RBC:........2.98....3.05....2.96
WBC:.......3.8........4.2....4.1
Lymph #:..1.5......1.7....1.31
Lymph %:39.0....40.3.....31.6
Neut #:....1.47....1.58....1.85
Neut %:...39.0....37.9.....44.7
Hgb:........10.7....10.8....10.2
HCT:........32.4....32.7....32.0
Platelet:...82.......86......78

One encouraging bit of news the hematologist at Vanderbilt shared today was about the drug, Promacta. During the last 10 years or so, there has been a pretty good amount of data collected on this drug, and it seems to be effective in helping the body increase production of red, white, and platelet cells -- with somewhat manageable side effects. There seems to be a glimmer of hope that this drug will be an increasingly beneficial and effective tool in treating AA and similar diseases.

One additional item occurred in the last year -- not sure if I mentioned this or not in an earlier post. My local hematologist, searching for clues as to why my blood counts have been low all these years, recommended I take a genetic test panel done by a company called siParadigm. The test covers something like 60 different genetic markers (e.g. Stem Cell, Myeloid, T-Cell, B-Cell, NK Cell, and misc. other markers). Honestly, I don't understand much of this genetic stuff. However, the good news is, the test results did not show any abnormalities in my genetic makeup -- my cells (though few in number) appear to be well-formed and healthy.

So, overall, my diagnosis stands as "Moderate Aplastic Anemia" -- cause unknown. It appears my hypo-cellular bone marrow is doing an adequate job of making healthy blood cells -- just not an abundance of them. But all things considered, I am very thankful to be alive and to enjoy the measure of health that I have!

Until next time,
David M