Gary Blanchard
beloved, local musician
What a long, strange trip it has been...
Finally out of the hospital yesterday with a 15 day stay. I have had two biopsies; bone marrow and kidney, and have two more Wednesday while they try to figure out what is happening. My kidney function numbers suddenly went haywire last month and then a CT scan for a kidney stone showed signs of possible cancer. I hope to have some answers soon, but right now am just waiting.
They were shooting me up with heparin; it seems that my blood thinned too much and there was a lot of bleeding from the site of the bone marrow biopsy. I was walking from the bathroom back to bed when I started feeling very light-headed. One of the nursing techs had walked into the room and I asked her to help me back to bed. (We didn't know how bad the bleeding was at that time.) She grabbed a nearby walker; I remember looking down and seeing my foot trying to move when it felt like a shock of electricity went through my brain. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor with a crowd of people around me. I half expected to see Rod Serling standing with them, cigarette in hand. I eventually ended up getting two blood transfusions. The tech (who was a slender woman) and a nearby nurse seemingly had been able to lower me to the ground without injury. They are my heroes.
They are suspecting myeloma, but the bone marrow biopsy wasn't definitive. Once I have a diagnosis I can begin whatever treatment is needed. At this moment it does seem that things were caught early, which helps.
So, one day at a time...
Finally out of the hospital yesterday with a 15 day stay. I have had two biopsies; bone marrow and kidney, and have two more Wednesday while they try to figure out what is happening. My kidney function numbers suddenly went haywire last month and then a CT scan for a kidney stone showed signs of possible cancer. I hope to have some answers soon, but right now am just waiting.
They were shooting me up with heparin; it seems that my blood thinned too much and there was a lot of bleeding from the site of the bone marrow biopsy. I was walking from the bathroom back to bed when I started feeling very light-headed. One of the nursing techs had walked into the room and I asked her to help me back to bed. (We didn't know how bad the bleeding was at that time.) She grabbed a nearby walker; I remember looking down and seeing my foot trying to move when it felt like a shock of electricity went through my brain. Next thing I knew, I was on the floor with a crowd of people around me. I half expected to see Rod Serling standing with them, cigarette in hand. I eventually ended up getting two blood transfusions. The tech (who was a slender woman) and a nearby nurse seemingly had been able to lower me to the ground without injury. They are my heroes.
They are suspecting myeloma, but the bone marrow biopsy wasn't definitive. Once I have a diagnosis I can begin whatever treatment is needed. At this moment it does seem that things were caught early, which helps.
So, one day at a time...
