Transition Delayed

Last Monday my transition appointment was really two appointments –  First stop at UCSF, next stop an hour later at Kaiser ten minutes away.  The two groups work together closely to coordinate the transfer of care for Kaiser transplant patients from UCSF back to Kaiser post surgery.  Except in my case, UCSF called Kaiser at the last minute to cancel my second appointment.

“We’re keeping Doris because she’s sick.”

My cough was still an issue, and worse, more evidence of viral infections were popping up including canker sores, lots of canker sores.  Elizabeth, my nurse practitioner, says I’m too immunosuppressed (i.e., my immune system is too weak).  My medications needed to be re-adjusted again and my health closely monitored a little longer.

In addition, my lab work the previous two weeks showed that my white blood count was a little low at 2.4 K/uL (standard range: 3.5-12.5 K/uL).  Elizabeth cautioned me to be careful when going out.  So the mask went back on when I was in public places, especially indoors, which included many trips recently to Kaiser (for myself, my son, and my mother-in-law for their various care) and a plane ride to and from Minnesota last weekend.

My white blood count has fallen below the normal range

The mouthful of canker sores reduced me to a miserable mess for several days.  At its worst, talking was hard and eating was harder, impossible in fact.  I puréed and drank all my meals as best I could.  My weight dropped to an all-time low as an adult – under 100 lbs.  I haven’t been that light since middle school.

And my medications?  Elizabeth explained that I was likely getting too much Cellcept, one of my anti-rejection medicines.  It keeps my body from rejecting my new kidney but now is also not rejecting some harmful viruses.  Cellcept doesn’t get absorbed into the body too well in the beginning, but over time, the body becomes more efficient at processing it. So now I’m likely getting more than I need so it’s suppressing my immune system too much.  In the last week, Elizabeth reduced my dosage twice, finally settling at one 250mg capsule twice a day.

Fortunately my cough started dissipating a few days ago.  Yesterday I was finally able to start eating again, and just in time to enjoy a “Coliseum Dog” at the A’s game last night.  (Since we were outdoors I figured I was safe.  Plus I sanitized after touching anything). Before the game, however, results from my latest lab, taken Monday morning, came in.  My white blood count (WBC) had dropped even further to 1.7 K/uL.

Today I see Elizabeth for a follow up, and we’ll see what she says.

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I know my blog gets pretty clinical sometimes, so I’m ending today’s post with something to cheer us up.  Here’s my favorite photo of the week…

Photo credit: Michelle Syracuse

To celebrate Sportsmanship (yay, Olympics!), and Community (yay, YOU!), I’m sharing an image from my son’s Ultimate tournament last weekend in Minnesota.  In the sport of Ultimate (frisbee), players end the game by coming together to acknowledge and recognize the strengths of their opponents.  Our captain will highlight a few players from the other team who exemplified the “Spirit of the Game,” then share a gift with them (e.g., baseball cap, disc).  The team from Minnesota gave our players a small can of Coke (a “mini soda.”)  Don’t you just love that!  

And my second favorite photo of the week…

Thank YOU for collectively picking me up and coming alongside me towards the finish line. 👣👣