A week of my life is gone. I've been in the hospital since last Tuesday and it was my first time back since April of 2007. I definitely talked that visit up. Additionally, Tuesday was the day I was to begin my fertility treatments, but because I could not take ibuprofen, I wasn't able to control my pain and it got the best of me. All this means I will not be able to begin fertility treatments again until June. My fertility doctor did say he saw 8-10 good eggs, although some might have been from last month, but it still confirmed I am 100% fertile. I was quite happy to have him validate this for me. It means I still have the option if I wanted to do it au naturale.
Every time I am hospitalized it is more and more difficult for me. The effects from SCA on my body are more evident every time. This time I had liver dysfunction, not GI problems. Because the doctors and hospitals were missing it, my Sickle Cell became a symptom of that bigger problem and I went into crisis. My hemoglobin and hematocrit numbers dropped so low on Wednesday that I also had to have a blood transfusion. Let me explain what this means.
A healthy individual will have blood drawn, or a CBC (complete blood count), and some of the numbers will look something like this:
* The HEMOGLOBIN measures the amount of oxygen-carrying protein in the blood.
Normal hemoglobin:
1. Adult males: 14-18 gm/dl
2. Adult women: 12-16 gm/dl
Tuesday my hemoglobin was 8.6, which is good for me. I walk around with this number daily.
Wednesday my hemoglobin was 6.8
* The HEMATOCRIT is the proportion, by volume, of the blood that consists of red blood cells. The hematocrit (hct) is expressed as a percentage. For example, an hematocrit of 25% means that there are 25 milliliters of red blood cells in 100 milliliters of blood.
Normal hematocrit:
1. Adult males: 42%-54%
2. Adult women: 38%-46%
Tuesday my hematocrit was 23, which is good for me. I walk around with this number daily.
Wednesday my hemoglobin was 18.6
Due to those dangerous levels, I was transfused (given 2 bags of blood) and I was new again. Not really, but my body was able to recover from the crisis I was presently in. Next, I still had to deal with the liver issue. I was seen by an infectious disease doctor, Dr. Younus, and he was definitely a kindred spirit. He completely agreed that there was a bigger picture occurring within my body that everyone had been missing and distracted by my SCA issues. He believes I have an infection in my liver and placed me on an antibiotic.
By Sunday, I checked myself out. The hospital is no place to recover. You cannot sleep, shower or rest at all. Someone is always taking your vitals, drawing blood or some nurse is usually happy to converse with someone who isn't 70 and on their death bed. My doctors are still concerned about many things that occurred last week -- an enlarged heart, my liver problems and my cbc numbers. I will make sure to update my blog next week and keep you posted on any progress. I am to have another appointment this Wednesday.
It was interesting being in the hospital after 2 years. My sister came to visit and I was able to bond with her, something we don't usually do. My mom always visits, but because she is a nurse of 32 years, she was some sort of rock star to all my attending nurses this go-round. It was nice to see her in her element, something we don't often get to experience with our parents. They respected the job she has done with me and how healthy and informed I seem to be about my condition.
It was quite difficult knowing my friends were out partying and living it up and I was so overcome with illness for a week, but as one of my favorite younger facebook friends said today, "I'm no longer looking at problems as "problems" but as "sequential steps" that we all have to take in order to reach the manifestations that GOD has already promised us. It's relieving to know that success is at the end, we just have to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS." This hospitalization was more motivating than ever to go through with this transplant. To understand the reality of my situation is that my body is failing and will continue to fail me. I must try my best to move forward and grow into the healthy individual I've always dreamed of being and cannot wait to find success at the end of this journey.
Until then I will rest, drink lots of fluids and get my exercise. I am to go on holiday next week, so I will make sure I am well rested and recovered so I can include pics on my blog. Until then...
Thank you for reading.
Peace and blessings,
C. Madry
My cousin, Robynne, has two small children, ages 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. The 2 1/2 year old, Christian, randomly picked up on someone saying "Sometimes" and repeated it ALL weekend. He would casually stroll around the house saying "Cousin Tina...Sometimes." Or just sit at his Diego dining table and say "Sometimes". It reminded me of the classic and first single dropped by one of my favorite artists, Bilal. The line where he says, "I wish I knew truth without search Sometimes. I wish I saw the exit sign first sometimes." It rings true of my mood today. 
