This Sums it Up...

Friday:
Came home from work and learned that Niki was showing signs of having an active upper gum bleed. MIL informed me that Niki's gums got progressively blue and swollen during the course of the day. Friday was a "no factor day". Contacted the on-call Pediatric HemOnc. The MD covering for Dr. Awesome instructed me to give her some factor. Active bleeding presumably stopped (up to now her gums are STILL swollen/bruised-looking) and all was well with the world again.

Saturday:
Had a very loooong and stressful day at clinic. My instructor came to do a site visit and I miraculously passed with flying colors. Got stuck in the midst of traffic, road rage, and speeding Walnut Creek yuppies, but made it home in one piece. MIL was kind enough to buy me a Sprinkles cupcake when she was out and about. So, after a very hard day, I took the luxury of indulging in it. Then....the shit hiteth the fan. I had an anaphylactic reaction less than 15 minutes later. I ended up in the ER and had the same doctor that Ethan did. "Dr. Z" remembered me. Subsequently, Dr. Z was also on top of his game and brought out all the bells and whistles. (I think it's because of what happened with Ethan.) I also learned very quickly that Epinephrine, Benadryl, and God-knows-what-else-he-gave-me makes me hallucinate. I thought it was Labor Day, that the Bay Bridge was still closed, and that I was in the Philippines all at the same time! I definitely don't enjoy being drugged, but I survived so I can't complain. That's always nice, right? Thank you, Dr. Z!

Sunday:
Slept all day long. Barely remember anything. I think I ate soup and somehow managed to hold it down. Slept some more. Man, that drug combo really effed me up! (Of note, this was the best sleep I've had since the program started in July!)

Monday:
Received a wake-up call from Niki's nurse case manager. It's not a lab week, but her nurse instructed me to draw labs on account of Niki's gum bleed. I was still feeling pretty shitty, but duty called and I had to answer. Drew some blood and took it to the lab at work. I went home and slept some more. When I finally woke up, I STILL felt too sick/dizzy to go to class. Missing class was NOT good since I just got counselled about attendance AND I have finals next week.Nevertheless, I didn't go and missed a quiz. But...I wouldn't have been able to drive on my own so what else could I do? Missed tons of information during lecture. Yeah, I'm going to be real prepared for my final on Monday.

Tuesday:
Saw a different specialist for a change. My regular doc was out, but I heard the phrase "IDIOPATHIC ANAPHYLAXIS"...again. This time I was instructed to self-administer the epipen no matter how mild or severe symptoms are. I was also informed that I'm using only about 50% of my lung capacity. Trying yet another drug combo in an attempt to keep me out of the ICU in the future. Three times in 27yrs is three times too many. Hoping things work better than before. Otherwise, I'm STILL alive and that's fine by me. :)

Wednesday:
Got another call from Niki's nurse. Lab results came in and they weren't good. INR was 4!!!! She's supposed to be between 1-3 and she was at 2.5 last week. Her FVII level didn't get processed. Quest Diagnostics said it was in the wrong tube which is impossible! I've been doing this for SEVEN MONTHS and there is no way in hell I used the wrong tube when I only have two to choose from. The nurse and I discussed this and he and I both think that the lab just fucked something up. I HOPE this is the case since that INR is not good. I'm drawing labs tomorrow just to be sure. Also, I finally went back to class tonight. However, I was VERY ill prepared for my test. Missed one whole lesson when I was at the ER two weeks ago. This proved to be very detrimental to my grade. Studied my ass off, but didn't do as well as I thought I did. Made lots of stupid mistakes. But...I'm still feeling icky so that's probably why I didn't do very well.

And....that pretty much sums it up!

P.S. Sorry if you had to google every other medical term. I'm too lazy to link right now.