B Positive

DESPERATELY SEEKING HEMOGLOBIN....

You know, I dont think I ever mentioned that I had to have a second blood transfusion a few weeks ago. I had a feeling my counts were low, and sure enough, Joni called me back and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Where you wanna go?", as in, you have no choice, pick a hospital to get transfused at.

She was able to get me in at Kettering at 6pm, which was good, because I wasnt going to miss any work. I drove straight from Cincy to Dayton after work and go there just in time. I honestly thought Id be out of there by midnight. Maybe drive back to Cincy and be good to go in the AM.

Unfortunately, I didnt get my blood until 11pm and the whole treatment wasnt over until 4-5am. So I slept (sort of) there, and was going to head back to work the next morning. You dont exactly get to sleep through it, really. They have to come in and take your BP and your temp every 20 min or so, so you're awake on and off throughout the night.

But its better than missing work in my opinion. Around 6 I was ready to go, but was informed that I was brought in under a "23 hour observation"....which meant only a doctor could release me. I asked, "Well, when do the doctors come in?" They say, "Oh, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon"....UH. NO!

So Im beeping the nurses all morning asking "What I gotta sign to get out of here" and Im beeping them and nobody will come back to my room, they'll only answer the speaker page. Apparently they thought I was going to get violent.

So I finally call the Medical Society from my room and have Romer paged. He calls, and Im whispering into the phone so the nurses dont hear me, "DOC! YOU GOTTA GET ME OUTTA HERE!! I need to get to work!!!" Romer hangs up, calls the nurses station and about seven minutes later Im signing my discharge papers. Reason #589 that going back to Romer was the best decision I ever made.

Well, that was the story of transfusion #2. This weekend was transfusion #3. Karen stuck me on Monday and my hemoglobin was 8.1. By Friday it was down to 7.5. Here we go again. The doc on call asked where I wanted to go. Lets try the Valley this time! Its not fair that just one hospital gets to enjoy my visits! So doc on call puts an order to Miami Valley and says I can go any time.
We were coming up to Dayton anyway for Ryan's football game (back to Welcome Stadium) so I thought, Ill just go in the morning and then be good to go for the game.

Well, we drove up Friday night, and to make a boring story short, it turns out, the hospital had the orders, and not only could I go at anytime in the morning, but I could just head over that night! And thank God I did, because I learned that multiple transfusions can lead to your body building antibodies that make it harder to match you up.....so I got to Miami Valley around10:30, and didnt get my blood until 2AM!!!!

If I would have headed over there on a busy Sat morning, who knows if I would have made it to the game. All in alll, another pleasant experience, and it turns out, Dad and all my aunts are B+, so in the future, they all said they could donate in my name. Im getting better and better and this.

But thats not why you read this blog! You read it for adorable pictures of Drew!!! Drew and Uncle John were watching some tv this weekend....

...must have been something funny!
Hes only six months and he's crawling and walking along the couches. It wont be long before he's walking.
Got out of the hospital around 9am and spent the day on the couch. Then we headed off to Marions before the football game - CJ vs CARROLL at Welcome Stadium:
Here they are, all my B-POSITIVE aunts! You'll see these hooligans again once our trip to Scrapbook Island (Jami renamed it) rolls around in a few weeks.

I also never got around to posting any pics of the Kelts Breast Cancer Fundraiser - Kelts raised $4000 for the KOMEN FOUNDATION!!! Way to Go Kelts!!! Thanks to mom and dad who also sold a bunch of tickets.
One of the many perks of having Breast Cancer, is that I get to pull the winning tickets at the fundraiser. O'Connor won a "Basket of Cheer" (Basket full of booze). You're welcome Brendan!!!!
Mom and Dad at Haps, right before a fight broke out by their table. (I was honored that people were getting so emotional over breast cancer!! - Actually, the guy who started it was apparently drinking since 9am that day, but maybe it was in honor of Breast Cancer)
Here they are - 2008 LEAGUE CHAMPS!!! The Cincinnati Kelts Womens Rugby Team!! They just won league and are in Chicago right now playing for the Midwest Championship. I was going to go with KJ but as you know, other things came up so I didnt go.

Kelts women beat the Milwaukee Scylla yesterday 48-5 and are playing Detroit today. They're either done playing or they're playing right now. Detroit is really good, and after you play them, you have a have a hard time saying Detroit without saying "F**K" before it. This has plagued Cincy women for the last five years or so. (Im going to call right now to see whats going on)

And finally, a belated thanks to Nancy Kramer (Faffs wife), who created this quilt patch for a program through Panera for the American Cancer Society. I love it! Thanks Nancy!!!
Well, I just talked to KJ and Cincy lost to Detroit. (F**K Detroit!!!) Im so proud of this team and how well they've developed since the Cincy-Dayton Split. They have so much talent, personality, and are hands down the hottest bunch of rugby women in the Midwest!

One more week till Treatment #5. Its almost over!! Time to start really hoping for good Tumor Marker/PET scan results. I refuse to scrapbook with a dark cloud over my head. REFUSE!!!

Have a great week everyone!! F**k Detroit!!!!