Exactly two months ago today, I was officially diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Idiopathis means that the cause is unknown. Thrombocytopenic means that I have a very low blood platelet count. Purpura means that I easily bruise. Unofficially I have been dealing with it since the middle of August and today it shows no signs of letting up. After trying two different types of steriods with no sustainable improvement, other treatments have started. I am currently going through four treatments of something called Rituxin. Through a serious of four sessions, I recieve 1,000 ml each session of a solution through IV. I had my second session yesterday. What this is supposed to do is seperate the antibodies from the blood platelets so that the spleen does not continue to destroy the platelets as it takes out the antibodies. My platelet count yesterday was 5,000. I have been told that I will never reach the normal level of 150,000+ ever again. But the goal is to stablize my count at a safe level, whatever that may be. It's a tough concept to swallow, but I keep moving forward.
Though there are some days where I feel that my body is plagued with an incureable disease. I also realize that there is a much Higher Power that dwels within me. For that I am very grateful. God is at work through this I know very well. Though I might not be able to see the clear picture os it all right now; I know that in the end it will all work out according to His plan. Due to what my body is going through, I basically have no immune system, well I have one but it is very week. Therefore, I have to avoid large groups of people; including church. Tomorrow will be the third week in a row that I have not been able to worship with my church family. This deeply saddens me. I am forever grateful for the prayers that they are saying on my behalf as well as the cards/notes of encouragement that continue to come my way. This has been very humbling for me as I am not one to accept sympathy very well.
Things continue to move along on the farm the best they can. With me being laid up, mom and dad have had to pitch in more and are doing a wonderful job. The cattle trailer is within sight of being finished. It took it's first test run this past Saturday. Dad and I finished the electrical and got the wheels back on. All that is left is the plastic and the flooring; with the plastic hopefully getting ordered on Monday. I will admit, that for a couple rookies, the trailer has turned out very well. Dad and I are now proud owners of an eighteen foot, goosneck cattle trailer...wahoo!!! I have to laugh though. A couple neighbors are already eyeing it and wondering when we can redo their trailers. I guess I might have a side job next summer! :)
Hoping to clean some livestock lots today. It is muddy as ever, but I don't have a choice. Calves should have been weaned by now, but the lot hasn't gottened cleaned yet. With all the moisture lately and slow harvest, I am hoping to be able to spread on a neighbors bean field. I think that he will take the free fertilizer!
Blessings
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
ER, Hospital, and Recliner
The title of this post has been the extent of my weekend thus far. After work and meeting with another specialist on Friday, the parents and I were spending some quality time with the relatives. Then I sneezed. The sneeze resulted in a close to four hour nose bleed, which landed me in the Hutchinson ER for multiple hours until the bleeding could be contained. An what do you know, I got to spend another night in the hospital. But I was in such disillusionment and pain, that I was very glad that I was under good care. Back home mid afternoon yesterday and the recliner is my domain for the next week. Platelet count was down to three thousand yesterday morning. The lowest it has been yet. :( God knows what he is doing and I do not. I guess that is the way that it is supposed to be right now.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Moving Forward
Well, it has been longer than I would have liked to have been since my last post. Oh well.
My journey with ITP continues on. Currently, I am still on a high does steriod to increase platelet levels. I have been put on a four day, ten day regiment. I take the medication for four days and then I am off for ten days, then repeat. It is evident when I am on the medication because my platelet number increase dramatically, like today I was up to 38,000. But when I am off the medication, like last week, I was down to 5,000. So, the fluxuation is showing that my body is not stabilizing higher numbers. I head to Abbott in the Twin Cities this Friday with another consultation with a different oncologist/hematologist. Hopefully he will be able to help figure out something. As of right now, I am thinking/trying to cox the doctors into not doing surgery for now. I am looking into different types of treatments methods and which one I should try first, I know that almost sounds really bad. So, hopefully within the next week or so, I will be starting an additional treatment to the steriods. Being constantly tired is getting really old, but there is nothing that I can do about that. I just feel like an elderly man when I am worn out by seven o'clock in the evening.
Things are moving along around the farm. Filled the bin on Saturday. Despite the cooler temperature, it felt good to get back on the tractor and pull gravity boxes down the road. :) The cattle trailer is finished being painted! Wahoo! It looks relaly nice, well I didn't take much from what it looked like before...haha! Dad and I got the decals and DOT striping on the other day. We pulled the longer strands of electrical wire yesterday. So now, we have to just install the lights and then splice them into the other wire. Shouldn't be too bad. Then we have the flooring and the plastic to install yet. So, there is plenty of work to be done, hopefully the weather will let us finish it before it gets too cold out! Weaning is about three weeks away. It's been so wet with the rain...and now snow, that I haven't been able to clean out the calve weaning area. Hopefully it will dry out soon so that I can get the pen ready. I would have weaned by now, the calves are really doing well, but my last calf was born Aug. 5. So , I want that calve to stay with its mom for a little longer yet. Dad and I are hoping to put up extra cornstalks this year. Twofold reason being hay wasn't overly abundant this year, so we'll need extra feed sources, and hopefully we'll be able to sell some for a little extra income.
I continue to work for the City of Hutchinson. I am almost complete with my time with the Parks dept. but then I am being transfered to the Streets dept. Not sure how long I will be there, possibly a few weeks. I have recently accpeted a seasonal position with Syngenta Seed bagging seed. Not sure when this will start, since it has been slow getting the seed out of the fields. And now with the inches of snow that fell today, I am sure that it will be longer yet. But once again, God has provided employment and for that I am very grateful for His faithfulness!!
Blessings
My journey with ITP continues on. Currently, I am still on a high does steriod to increase platelet levels. I have been put on a four day, ten day regiment. I take the medication for four days and then I am off for ten days, then repeat. It is evident when I am on the medication because my platelet number increase dramatically, like today I was up to 38,000. But when I am off the medication, like last week, I was down to 5,000. So, the fluxuation is showing that my body is not stabilizing higher numbers. I head to Abbott in the Twin Cities this Friday with another consultation with a different oncologist/hematologist. Hopefully he will be able to help figure out something. As of right now, I am thinking/trying to cox the doctors into not doing surgery for now. I am looking into different types of treatments methods and which one I should try first, I know that almost sounds really bad. So, hopefully within the next week or so, I will be starting an additional treatment to the steriods. Being constantly tired is getting really old, but there is nothing that I can do about that. I just feel like an elderly man when I am worn out by seven o'clock in the evening.
Things are moving along around the farm. Filled the bin on Saturday. Despite the cooler temperature, it felt good to get back on the tractor and pull gravity boxes down the road. :) The cattle trailer is finished being painted! Wahoo! It looks relaly nice, well I didn't take much from what it looked like before...haha! Dad and I got the decals and DOT striping on the other day. We pulled the longer strands of electrical wire yesterday. So now, we have to just install the lights and then splice them into the other wire. Shouldn't be too bad. Then we have the flooring and the plastic to install yet. So, there is plenty of work to be done, hopefully the weather will let us finish it before it gets too cold out! Weaning is about three weeks away. It's been so wet with the rain...and now snow, that I haven't been able to clean out the calve weaning area. Hopefully it will dry out soon so that I can get the pen ready. I would have weaned by now, the calves are really doing well, but my last calf was born Aug. 5. So , I want that calve to stay with its mom for a little longer yet. Dad and I are hoping to put up extra cornstalks this year. Twofold reason being hay wasn't overly abundant this year, so we'll need extra feed sources, and hopefully we'll be able to sell some for a little extra income.
I continue to work for the City of Hutchinson. I am almost complete with my time with the Parks dept. but then I am being transfered to the Streets dept. Not sure how long I will be there, possibly a few weeks. I have recently accpeted a seasonal position with Syngenta Seed bagging seed. Not sure when this will start, since it has been slow getting the seed out of the fields. And now with the inches of snow that fell today, I am sure that it will be longer yet. But once again, God has provided employment and for that I am very grateful for His faithfulness!!
Blessings
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