Life saving blood saves Rebel Rev again

I had an interesting encounter yesterday. I met a new doctor to me at my local hospital. He is a haematology registrar and obviously likes to work out. He had muscles upon muscles. More importantly he was a nice bloke and very thorough in what he was doing.

My HB, that stands for haemoglobin which are the red cells, has gone low again. He told me I needed a couple of units of blood and he arranged for me to have them today.

He also said to me “so you have a heart problem” I said “not that I was aware of” We talked through all the bits and bobs that aren’t working so well and the things that are good too. He asked me why I was still needing blood and why my counts were still dropping. I said I didn’t know but that it keeps happening and that my last biopsy showed my bone marrow continues to be hypocellullar. He said “so the transplant hasn’t worked” I said that no one had said that but I have been told I need a close eye kept on and another repeat bone marrow biopsy in 3 months.

It’s strange when you see yourself through someone else’s eyes. It is odd that my red cells are still so troublesome and that I continue to need blood transfusions. It’s good that my platelets are holding up and my white cells are ok bearing in mind I’m still taking immunosuppressive drugs because of the graft verses host disease.

When you have blood you have to have your ob’s taken every 15 minutes. The first set of obs were taken by a friendly but matter of fact Eastern European nurse. She asked me if I had asthma or a heart condition. I said why and she said my Sats were only 95. I said maybe it’s because I need some blood. They’ve since come up to 96 which is still a bit low. Oh well that’s life!

I guess one day it will all become clear. In the meantime I am incredibly grateful for our NHS which continues to keep me alive and the wonderful women and men who work in this magnificent institution. I am blessed to live in a country with so many dedicated people and a health system that is free. Imagine how even more fantastic our NHS would be if it was properly funded. Let’s make sure we praise the dedicated men and women who do so much good in the world. I owe you my life and could never repay you for that.