Shoe Update

I'm in the clinic sitting in my Duke blue recliner on side A. Kristen, the twenty something yr old with aplastic anemia is to my left, wearing her best fancy shoes. Today is her last day in the clinic and for the occasion she is wearing a pair of grey pointy toed shoes with little bows on them. They have, oh about a 2 inch heel. She is also wearing her best Italian, chic jeans or some that approximate that anyway. My older guy Bob and his wife are seated to my right doing a crossword puzzle. He is waiting to see if his stem cell counts are up so that he can proceed with his transplant. She is waiting for her labs and then the provider is going to pull the Hickman catheter in her chest since she won't be needing blood or platelet transfusions after this. They have just given her a pain pill so that it won't be so uncomfortable when they finally do yank that thing out of her chest (I have this in my near future too). I'm waiting on my counts to learn if I need anything today. I don't expect to need any blood products since the bone marrow is producing now. I may need a magnesium or potassium pill since those get used up by all the bone marrow activity making new cells.

Later we will head west on I-40 to Asheville loaded down with pie and other sweets. I hope everyone reading this has a terrific plan for their Thanksgiving. And do give thanks because we all have a great deal to be grateful for. It's good to take at least one day to acknowledge that and share that spirit with others.