I got a large number of requests for updates after the post about Bill's blood turning into liquid paraffin.
So here's a short one.
1. No, we weren't kidding in that last report. Or exaggerating. His blood was in clumps in the syringe. It was NOT runny or liquid.
2. I found a lot about it online (please factor in that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and that I am only going by what I THINK the medical reports have been saying, when I've googled into the lingo-intensive articles. In other words, I could be WRONG here).
Turns out that coagulated blood is a rare but well-known side effect of Cisplatin. How it works is like this:
Platelets are things in the blood that nurture the "endothelium." The endothelium is the lining of the arteries. Endothelium is like Teflon and makes the arteries slippery so blood moves through easily. Cisplatin had wiped out a vast amount of Bill's platelets. Therefore, his platelets were not nurturing his endothelium and when that happens, the endothelium gets out of wack and the blood clots. I think they call it a "coagulation cascade" which is a bizarre medical term (BMT), not unlike "exquisite pain" which is another BMT.
So...Bill's platelets having taken a severe hit, his endothelium went rogue, and his blood clotted up.
Is this about as dangerous as looking down the barrel of a Taliban AK-47 while making up fun-poking limericks about men who wear skirts?
Why, yes it is!
So tomorrow we plan to call the oncologists and ask about getting him more attention, and possibly pre-emptive anticoagulant therapy before the next time this strikes. He still has TWO more rounds of Cisplatin in his future.
3. Thanksgiving was hard for our Roy Rogers, though. Everything tasted like metal, and he kept almost throwing up. And there was lots and lots of noisy partying going on day and night because a galaxy of 20-something kids was (were?) here, orbiting everywhere, laughing, squealing, dancing with the pups, cooking weird foods, inventing macaroni and cheese pizza with alfredo sauce on it...oh!... and accusing me of cheating at poker when all i did was whisper to Bill as to whether I should fold with two kings, which I didn't do, thanks to Bill, and which did cause me to win the entire game.
More when the next shoe drops.
Love and thanks for those prayers.
Beth
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Maybe it was his myelosuppression trying to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving early.
ReplyDeleteI mean, between the gravy and the cranberry sauce and even the consistency of pecan pie, the timing couldn't have been more perfect for that form of myeleosuppression.
None of the other side effects of that side effect would have been nearly as appropriate for the holiday season -- like dressing up as the Easter Bunny on Christmas...