Rash

Counts
Platelets: 8 (so I got a platelet transfusion)
Hemoglobin: 7.8 (so, as expected, I also got a blood transfusion today)
Neutrophils: still too few to count
Monocytes: 4%, same as the day before


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Mara began her local participation in the transplant process. She met with the doctor who will manage her donation, and she took some tests: blood tests, EKG, chest x-ray. There will be more tests tomorrow, which is also Mara's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mara! (Hint: mara-seeley@comcast.net)

To take advantage of having both sisters together,
we had an early birthday with chocolate cupcakes.
Don't be fooled by her youthful appearance and
the number of candles. Mara is older than three.

Mara spent a good part of the afternoon at the Ronald McDonald House. The house is a place for families of child patients to stay close to their children, but guests of any patient in any University of Chicago hospital are welcome to use the daytime facilities -- laundry, shower, kitchen, lounge. It's a wonderful place full of kind and helpful staff, and my dad and both sisters have all benefited from its offerings. They have all been so impressed that they want to put this Ronald McDonald House on their charity giving list.


Another benefit available to guests of patients is access to the campus athletic center for a discounted daily fee. For my sisters, this translates mainly into pool access, but they could use weights or the track or other fitness equipment if they wanted.


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My medical excitement of the day is the appearance of a minor rash on my back. The daily posse wasn't sure what it was, so they requested a visit by a dermatologist, who also wasn't sure what it was, so she returned with a more experienced dermatologist. The older doctor thinks he knows what it is -- a harmless, non-communicable virus -- and they took a skin biopsy (nearly painless) for a test. I will get preliminary results tomorrow.