Platelets and Ike, Part 3

Ike has come and gone, and we are all fine. Still no electricity, and we lost our fence and banana tree, but the damage is so very minor compared to those on the coast who lost everything, or even to others in our neighborhood with trees that slammed into their houses. We saw pine trees snapped in half and large oak trees completely uprooted. It's a miracle that our flimsy windows did not break.

On the night of the hurricane, Joel had to stay at the hospital to work, so Maura and I laid up supplies in the bathroom and put our mattresses in the hallway before trying to sleep. We waited in total darkness, not wanting to use up our precious flashlight batteries. The hurricane brought such weird noises. We could hear the wind bending the windows and walls. We could hear the cracking of the pine trees--a bit like the creaking of stiff joints, but a lot louder. We heard branches, pine cones, and unidentified objects hitting our roof and rolling down. And, of course, we heard the howling wind and rain. When the eye passed overhead, it was quiet for awhile, and then the winds started from the opposite direction. Early on, Maura decided that the hallway wasn't where she wanted to be, so she took up her spot in the bathroom for the night.

The hospital's outpatient services were closed for four days, so the transfusion of platelets before the hurricane was a very good thing. During our visit with the doctor last Tuesday, he recommended a new drug to combat thrombocytopenia, a big word meaning that Maura has low platelets, in this case induced by chemotherapy. The drug, administered several days before chemo and immediately after, should help her platelet level return to normal faster, allowing her to stay on her chemo schedule without the delay caused by low blood counts.
So, in preparation for round Six, Maura had the helpherplatelets shot on Friday, and the preventmouthsores shot on Sunday, and chemo starts on Wednesday.

And we continue to be blessed, especially in Ike's wake.