Being Neutropenic is when White Blood Cell counts are very low. Normal range is 1800-8000. You become Neutropenic when the count goes below 1000 and have no immunity when the count is below 500. On Monday, my bloodwork returned an Absolute Nuetrophil Count (ANC) of 16. Yes, my immune system was shot...
It was a day of lots of sleep, followed by a night of taking my temperture and making regular calls to UCSF. Dr. Dias, who was on call that night, also did not get much sleep and even called our house once to check in because we hadn't called him. The tolerance for having a temperature is very low. If I have a temp >101F or sustain a temp between 100F and 101F for an hour, then I must go to the nearest emergency room where I am immediately put on antibiotics and then transported to UCSF by ambulance. Kinda of scary, but only temporary until my counts go back up.
Luckily, my temp was not stastained >100 continuously for an hour. It would teeter above 100F and then drop back in the 99F range.
Today it has stayed below the 99F mark... Great day and I can feel my energy coming back.
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