Cells, cells and some more cells. Oh, and some blood.

Today I had another visit to the infusion center. It was just for a blood draw and I also had to get the dressing on my Picc line changed. I left right after they drew my blood because I also had a appointment to get a bone marrow biopsy today. They called me this morning and said that I was going to have it done my the BMT nurse practitioner because my doctor was unable to do it today. So I went to the clinic and waited like an hour till the procedure because as always times got mixed up. So bring on bone marrow biopsy number 5. I am now pretty used to these biopsy's so I wasn't too anxious about this one, but most of mine have been in the hospital and when you are there they give you lots of drugs before so you don't feel a thing. When you do one outpatient they don't give you anything besides lido cane to numb the area. I am pleased to report though that it wasn't bad at all, actually I didn't feel too much of it. Just pressure on the site. The only thing was that I did bleed out more than normal because my platelet count was a little low.

So even though my platelet count was a little low it still was high enough to not have to get a transfusion. That was good news because that meant I didn't have to stay in the infusion center longer. But get this, my white blood cell count came back 21.9. Wow what a jump! Last weekend my count was at zero. It was a little alarming to me because that is double of what the "normal person's" white count is. My doctor assured me though that it was fine, the high counts are due to the nulastin shot that they gave me the other week. I am just hoping that they are all good cells and are not blasting again.

The past couple nights I haven't gotten to bed until 2 Am. That is partly due to my antibiotic IV not getting done until 11:30 or 12:00. But at night while lying in bed I have been thinking a lot. With such a huge procedure being done in a few weeks and knowing that this is what can save my life, I have just been thinking about all that has happened over these past several months. All that I have gone through to get to this point. It is a lot to mull over, from the week I was sick at my home in Montana while the rest of the school was in Moab to where I am right now. Thinking of the miracles that God has performed during this process. Also thinking about the hard times when my faith was tested and I feel like I failed. There is one thing that I can't deny though, that God is a truly amazing Creator. That really became real to me as I was getting my blood drawn today. I mean how often do we really think how complicated blood is? I know that I never really put too much thought into it before. I knew that we needed it to live and to function, but do we really realize how intricate it is. You can find out so much just from a blood sample. It has so many components to it. After they process my blood they give me 2 pages of chemistry results. Some I understand and some I don't. They are able to tell me my potassium level, magnesium, white count, red count, platelets, hemoglobin, glucose and the list goes on and on and on. I mean how can anyone not think that there is a creator behind this. All of my time spent in hospital I have learned so much about the human body and how we function. It is truly amazing how everything works perfectly together and how we can still function when we have a zero white count and a very low count on many other levels. Wow what a amazing God we have!

Well we are approaching Labor Day weekend. Can anyone believe that we are now heading into September already? Christmas will be here before we know it. Actually my mom and I were in a store the other day and they already had out some Christmas decorations. I was shocked, that is a little too soon I think. But I am really going to try to enjoy this weekend at home, because come Tuesday I have to be either at the Hospital, Clinic, or Infusion Center EVERY day until transplant. Some visits will be shorter than others, but it still cuts into your day when you have appointments to go to. So I hope that everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend, as I am going to!!