[David M]

Hello All,

God has blessed me with another year on this earth, so it is time for another yearly update! Since my last posting in ~July 2020, a lot has happened with me, but blood-wise, things are still pretty good. The high-lights -- or perhaps low-lights:

(1) On August 27, 2020, my mother passed away after having a massive stroke a couple of days before. This was quite a shock, since she appeared to be in great health up until this time. She was 78.
(2) As the entire family converged for my mother's funeral, those of us in the immediate family ALL got Covid-19! Most were only sick for a week or so, but my brother and I stayed sick a little longer.
(3) My brother was put in the local hospital with Covid-pneumonia. They also ran MANY tests on him due to some irregularities in his blood. More about that below. He was in the hospital 2-3 weeks.
(4) After a couple of weeks, I was not getting better, so I went to the ER in Huntsville, AL. They found my counts were the lowest I had ever seen them (see summary below for 9/13 and 9/14). They ended up giving me a unit of RBC and a unit of platelets and sending me home. I soon recovered.
(5) After many more tests (including BMBs and numerous CBCs, etc.), my brother was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis -- a rare form of blood cancer. After much more testing, consultation with doctors at the Sarah Cannon Clinic in Nashville, etc., he is within days of getting a stem cell transplant. Had he not gotten Covid, he might never have known (until it was too late) that he had this blood cancer brewing. (It is really strange to me that me and my brother have 2 completely different one-in-a-million blood problems -- apparently my sister missed out on all this!)

So, these last several months have been rather eventful. I also changed companies in November, so I have had the added excitement of starting a completely new job! It was time to leave, but still -- starting a new job can be stressful... and I realize at times just how foggy my brain is when I really have to concentrate and think!

Other than all that, my health report for this past year is unremarkable. No abnormal bleeding, bruising, or infections. I did experience some petechiae on my lower legs for the first time a couple of weeks ago, but it soon went away. Overall, as my doctor at Vanderbilt likes to say: "Things appear remarkably stable." I am very thankful for this stability, because I know it is subject to change at any time.

Still, I have noticed more and more a feeling of being tired and draggy. Sometimes I have to really push to motivate myself to get going. My stamina and endurance have noticeably dropped in the last year. But also, I have not done any regular exercise since I had Covid -- and I think this contributes to my lack of zip. I need to get back to at least walking regularly. As I told my wife the other day, "I feel like a worthless slug." She replied, "Oh dear, you aren't worthless!" (Ok, I get it... I am a slug, of great value. Ha)

Below are counts from my last 6 CBCs (9/13/20*, 9/14/20*, 10/16/20, 12/14/20, 4/19/21, 7/8/21):
RBC:........1.84....1.89....2.55....2.82....2.68....2.82
WBC:.......3.46....3.16....4.00....4.20....3.60....4.20
Lymph #:..0.84....0.89....1.40....1.80....1.50....1.39
Lymph %:.23.5....????.....35.4....43.1....42.1....33.2
Neut #:....2.05....1.85....1.67....1.42....1.33....1.89
Neut %:...59.1....????.....42.3....34.3....37.4....45.2
Hgb:........7.20....7.30....9.00....10.4....9.70....10.1
HCT:........21.0....21.4....27.4....31.1....29.4....31.0
Platelet:...26.......28......52.......80...... 62......71

* Readings were taken while I had Covid-19.

As at my last visit, my hematologist at Vanderbilt discussed available medication options for possibly improving my blood counts. The most appealing option is Promacta which is apparently gaining in popularity and giving favorable results for many -- and it doesn't suppress your immune system. Of course with any drug, there are side effects to consider. However, he said in my case, Promacta might not really improve my HGB that much. My HGB currently hovers around 9.5-10.5, so he said it might slightly improve it to something like 11, rather than significantly raising it to something like 14. So, for me, it likely wouldn't be worth the trouble at this time. Now, if my HGB dropped down to the 7-8 range, it would be a great option to consider.

Well, I've blathered on enough for now. I pray you all have a great 2021-2022...

Until next time,
David M