Well, I stayed at the crease for long enough to save the match. If you were in the crowd then I'm raising my bat to you, your support is much appreciated.
The fungal infection never revealed itself despite being hunted via x-ray, CT scan and then bronchoscopy. Maybe we scared it away?
My neutrophil count stayed at zero for a few days and then on Jan 21st I had an inexplicable feeling that something had changed for the better. I mentioned it to the consultant during rounds, he was kind but sceptical. Nevertheless, a few minutes later he was back, telling me that my neutrophils had indeed gone up from 0.00 to 0.12 - that was good enough for me. The next day it was still at 0.11, so still looking OK.
The next day there was no value for the count, so when the consultants did their ward-round I asked for the reason why. Apparently at the weekend the bloods are subject to a different team/process which doesn't give a neutrophil value. I said that I was tracking my progress and was disappointed at not having a count, but the lead consultant haematologist rebuffed me with something dismissive, something like "0.11? It's just a blip. If your counts are really rising after such a short period, you'll be the first person we've ever had who has started to recover so soon. You'll need another week for the counts to start to recover for real." I wasn't overjoyed - she wasn't very inspiring, and I told her so before she went. I also told her that I thought she was wrong, I could feel that I was getting better.
Sunday went by with no count and no problems.
Monday, however, was a peach. A different consultant was at the desk when I asked the nurse for my neutrophil count.
0.31
I asked the nurse to repeat it louder, as if I was having trouble hearing.
0.31!
Nobody dared to stop me celebrating (wandering the ward supping a pint bottle of Magners).
And the counts have continued to rise every day 🙂
For some strange reason, the disparaging lead consultant hasn't seen me since.
This post has been backdated from 2nd Feb.
