All Things Health

On Monday evening, around 10:30, Loren and I were in bed and got a phone call. We were awake but it was annoying to find that ONCE AGAIN it was a wrong number from someone trying to get the credit card company with the 800 number that varies from our number by one digit.

On Tuesday morning, around 7:30, Loren and I were (still) in bed and got another phone call. I was already awake and getting ready to be semi-polite when I recognized Ardith's voice on the phone...

So here is the scoop: Ardith went to the ER on Monday night, after running a fever for several days and feeling ill. She was found to have a UTI and then they found something else...extremely low blood platelets.

They kept her overnight and she finally got home Tuesday afternoon, with a hefty dose of Prednisone, as well as an antibiotic.

ITP, or Idiopathic (unknown origin) Thrombocytopenic Purpura is the diagnosis, in addition to the urinary tract infection.

Platelets are the components of the blood that involve clotting. Normal platelet counts are between 150,000 and 400,000. Ardith's initial count was 8000 and when she left the hospital it was about nil.

ITP is simply the immune system seeing the platelets as "the enemy" and eating them up. So the Prednisone will dampen her immune system and hopefully let the platelets build up, again.

In the meantime, she's been encouraged not to play touch football.

Sometimes this condition is chronic, but the doctors feel that in this instance it was brought on by the rather severe infection, which Ardith didn't even know she had.

If anyone out there is wondering about leukemia, don't. While that can also be symptomized by low platelets, Ardith did not have the corresponding signs...like a messed up white count.

Just her platelets seem to have been affected. She doesn't feel that terrible at the moment, but I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers, as we also would, for her.
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On the Diet Front: Ma has lost 3 pounds since Sunday :-) Probably water weight, from not eating all those yummy chips, heh, heh. After today, only 11 more days to go.
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You may already know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. The Breast Cancer Site is having another promotion...every click counts double toward free mammograms.

Now personally, I'm not sure why they had the big promotion last month if they were going to have an even bigger one this month....but it's for a good cause. Already they have reached 24% of their goal.

So click on the pink rectangle.
 

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