Out of the hospital

...Well I spent from September 26Th to October 22Nd in the Ottawa General hospital because the gemcitabine I was given for chemo caused my kidney failure. Now I'm a little better as the creatine has taken a flip and is now going down - That's a good thing by the way.

To all my friends inflicted with cancer, make sure that your high blood pressure is doing good and that you "DEMAND" your hemoglobin and creatine results every time you get any blood work done.
If you are an out patient and your family doctor request blood work, kindly ask him to always check your hemoglobin and creatine as regular testing. Also ask him the numbers you are looking for.

On another note, I have received three in the past 2 months, 3 blood transfusion (2 unit each) for my hemoglobin being low without any physical blood loss. (found out it goes microscopic thus visually undetected through your urine). Of course you also lose blood with blood work and plasma exchange.

Tis for now/ciao/mlb

Blood - the wacky science

...Since September 26th,2008, I've been hospitalized with a blood and kidney disease called TMA and/or TTP (thrombotic microangiopathy). It is very rare with only 26 reported cases last year in Ottawa. There are several treatment and so far I received hemadialysis 6 times and plasma forensis (exchange) 18 times as well as a kidney biopsy.

The main problem is to maintain a proper balance. I have high blood pressure and a very high score of creatine as well as a low of hemoglobin. The problem with me at this time is that all three are screwed up and it is difficult to maintain the proper numbers.

So with that in mind, I'm eating the scrumptious hospital food 3 times a day.

Tis for now/ciao/mlb