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Keeping Faith
I was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia on the date of September 11, 2012. The doctor does not know what caused this condition. I had bruises all over my body and a small cut on my finger that would not stop bleeding. I was admitted to the hospital with a platelet count of 2. I had to resign from work because I was receiving several transfusions of blood and platelets. I also received an ATG treatment at NYU. I arrived home October 5, 2012. A hematologist at Sloan Kettering Center has arranged to find a 10/10 unrelated donor for me for a bone marrow transplant if this treatment does not work, because my siblings are not matching donors. Not to mention I am spending as much time as possible in this hotel room so I am not around any germs. I lost my home from Sandy and the hotel and Fema have given me the blessings of a clean room to live in. My primary hematologist told me to wait six months before receiving a transplant. I have agreed to do so. I have been on a roller coaster ride with my platelets rising and falling and they have been relatively low. I visited a hematologist at Methodist and he told me my platelets were 7 and that I should not transfuse. He referred me back to NYU since his specialty was not Aplastic Anemia but his council did help a bit. My period began right after I left his office and it was extremely heavy. I admitted myself into the ER. I fell to a 5 and this made me nervous so they gave me two packages of blood and one package of platelets. A few weeks later I visited my primary doctor and he tested me. He said my platelets fell from a 10 to a 7 and that my red and white blood cells fell but not enough to need a transfusion. He told me that I should not get platelets unless I fell to a 4. I read online about your organs getting damaged and increased risk of graft host rejection after receiving too much blood but I also began to feel nervous about internal bleeding. I decided to listen to both doctor's advice (as you can see I have received many opinions) and my platelets rose over night from a 7 to 14. This was Friday, but I received my period Sunday and I am very nervous. I decided not to check my CBC's yet. I am going to try to see if my counts will stabilize or increase after my period. During the meantime I have done much research about this disease and the proper foods to eat. I heard some woman speak of birth control and doctors did give me this at a hospital in Staten Island. My primary doctor said he did not want me on a hormone because it could give me hot flashes and menopause. I asked another doctor in Brooklyn if it was safe to take birth control and he said no because it could give me a blood clot and blood clots can kill you. I am just praying as much as I can for faith to get better and reading inspiring stories about a member who has counts that have risen in 9 months is very inspiring. I have read stories online of survivors. This helps because there is much traumatic information for new comers and I prefer to keep the faith and hope in God's unconditional love and pray for healing.
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