Week 52 – a Week in Wagga

My blood tests this week were interesting. All counts had dropped somewhat and I got a call from the hospital requesting I come back in for a blood transfusion.  This was quite surprising as I had been planning a transfusion every 4 or 5 weeks but it has only been 3 weeks since my last transfusion.  The Doctors did not have an answer as to why the counts had dropped so quickly – something that is not uncommon.  Some of the reactions to cancer treatment cannot be easily explained. I have suspected that I have carried a cold for the past two weeks and if this is the case it will  probably have had an impact on the blood counts.

My blood counts were:

Red Blood Cells 76, White blood cells 4.0, Platelets 21, Neutrophils 1.7, Creatinine 81 and Magnesium 0.67, Potassium 3.8.

I chose to return  to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon to get a ‘Group and Hold’ done for my blood type so that I wouldn’t have to wait an extra 2 hours on Wednesday when I returned for the transfusion.

I must admit deep down I am a little disappointed that my blood cells are not producing well enough to keep the counts higher.  I know it is something that I don’t have control  over but never the less it is a critical part of my recovery that does not appear to be going to (my) plan.  The doctors do not appear to be concerned and keep saying I have to be patient – time is required for the bone marrow to kick into gear.

A week in Wagga

Last week we spent the longest period out of Melbourne since arriving a year ago.  The idea was to celebrate the one year milestone with friends. I was quite nervous about being so far away from the hospital for a week but everything turned out well.

We kicked this off with a lunch with Mark and Chrissy Hills, Darren and Kath Wallace and Peter Clucas.  Unfortunately Sharon Clucas had to stay at their ski shop, but we did drop in and catch up with her after lunch.

On Wednesday night it was time to catch up with our old tennis group the Preddys, Hawkins and Thomsons (The Butts were up at the snow so couldn’t make it).  This was a great reunion.  It was John Preddy who organised my transfer from Launceston hospital to Royal Melbourne back at day one.  Thankyou Ruth for a lovely dinner!

On Thursday I caught up with my colleagues at Proway Livestock Equipment to tour the facilities at Bomen and a quick lunch to catch up on business matters.  We currently have a backlog of 24 shearing sheds to be built – not bad for a drought!

 

 

We then met up with Annette Spruhan to see her new block of land on the outskirts of town where she is building a new house,  followed by a lovely dinner at her house in North Wagga,

 

 

Friday involved a few meetings including one with our accountant and then lunch with Col and Jenny Duff, John and Judy Smith and  Tim and Naomi McMullen.  There was a little surprise in this one as we had only arranged to meet the Duffs but Col managed to round up the extras.

I managed to get out to the airport to visit Chris Cabot late on Friday plus a few drinks at the Aero club later on before heading back to the Thomson’s where we were staying for a lovely dinner.  Peter and Liz Dowling joined us as well.

On Saturday morning we headed out to Cootamundra to visit my parents but stopped in to see John and Sandy Hawkins first – which included a tour of their new house.

We had a lovely weekend with my Mum and Dad at Cootamundra and apart from eating and sleeping, and a few walks in the lovely sunshine it was a nice restful weekend.

Funny co-incidence but on Wednesday when we were seated for my blood transfusion we ended up being right next to the Watsons.  James is my woolbroker friend who ‘went through’ his treatment a month or so before me.  He is going through the same ups and downs re blood counts and we tend to meet up weekly at our blood tests and swap stories on blood counts and life in general.  Of late he has been explaining the reasons behind the high wool prices and his prediction for the next 12 months. Wool growers certainly are in the money now.