#9 Bone Marrow Biopsy Complete

I had my ninth biopsy yesterday. Everything went fine. A little happy medicine and pain medicine make the process close to painless. The biopsy is taken from my hip - around the area where the top of the back pocket on a pair of jeans sits. My biopsy has been taken from the same darn spot the last 5 times. I guess it is a good spot. I hope that my chiropractor and massage therapists will be able to work out all the scar tissue that is sure to be in the area.

My labs look good. My platelet count stayed the same, but everything else went up. Yeah! My white cells and neutrophils are both in the low-normal range. My red blood is 6.5 points from low normal. My magnesium is now in the high-normal range. No more Maggie!!! For those of you not familiar with Maggie, it is the name given to the pack I've had to carry around for 1-4 hours each day since leaving the hospital. The pack housed the pump that was hooked to my magnesium/saline bag, that was hooked to my red tri-fusion line, that went into my body to keep my body hydrated and my magnesium count around normal. It will be nice to give Maggie a rest. :)

While at the clinic I did get bad news from my friend Liz. Her transplant didn't work - she has 0 donor cells. Plus, her leukemia is back. She was diagnosed just before I was. I had my transplant in Feb and she didn't have her transplant until June. The hold up was caused by Medicaid. They didn't want to pay for the procedure. Question 1: Would her transplant have been more successful if she had it sooner? Liz could have another transplant but, again, Medicaid doesn't want to pay for it. Liz's words were "what, they just give you a death sentence?" Question 2: Isn't the life of a young woman worth the fight to save? Question 3: Why does insurance have so much say in a person's opportunity to live? Question 4: Considering her insurance is Medicaid, why on earth would I want a government-run healthcare program? I really have no desire to have a healthcare debate on this blog, so please don't start. These are just questions that I have been thinking about. I am simply bothered by the situation.

All that said, please keep Liz and her son in your prayers. They are both having a very difficult time; especially her son. Liz and I have never discussed her beliefs in a higher power, but I know that the power of prayer is real. I know that she and her son can find peace through our Savior. I also know that the prayers of many truly bring blessings of peace and comfort.

Coming up: Just waiting to see what my bone marrow shows. It takes 10-14 days to get results back.

Much love,
Mel