In Eight Steps to Happiness Geshe-la says "'Self' and 'other' are relative terms, rather like 'this mountain' and 'that mountain ... 'This' and 'that' therefore depend upon our point of reference. This is also true of self and other. By climbing down the mountain of self, it is possible to ascend the mountain of other, and thereby cherish others as much as we presently cherish ourself."

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Graded on a Curve?

Who knew that blood tests could be graded on a curve?
Yesterday when I went to the doctor's office and got my blood tested to see if my system was strong enough for the chemo, I failed the test, but my doctor decided we could go ahead anyway! This is very good news.
The chemo nurses seemed very surprised - when they came back with the report, the number wasn't even that close, and they were ready to send me home. Thankfully, my oncologist/surgeon was in the office - he's often in surgery or at another clinic - and thankfully my nurse went back to ask him about Plan B. He's the only one there qualified to override the usual protocols. For the record, my ANC (absolute neutrophil count) was 0.6, after being 0.3 on Tuesday, and the cutoff to go ahead with treatment is usually 1.0.
But don't worry - he also prescribed a longer-lasting version of the white-cell enhancer (a cousin to Neupogen called Neulasta), so my counts should be back up in a few days - you could say my curve is on an upward trajectory. It's like a teacher passing you because they have every reason to expect you'll know the info in a few days : ) When does that ever happen!?
Both Neupogen and Neulasta are expensive drugs, so insurance will only pay for them when there's demonstrated need.
I really do think my doctor is Medicine Buddha, and that my nurses are all Bodhisattvas, and that your prayers pulled me through again, for which I am most grateful.

1 comment:

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