Explaining Un-Happy Things

This post is also on my FaceBook profile in a note, just to let everyone know. =) I wrote it at 11:30 AM this morning (Wednesday, May 27th 2009).


OK. So, it's kind of hard figuring out how to get the news out to people. I could use the phone, e-mail, bird, message strapped to an aardvark's back, whatever. But this seemed like an ok way to start.

I'm in the hospital (Strong Hospital in Rochester, NY), and have been since yesterday. I could be here for a month, probably more.
I feel absolutely fine. Seriously. Nothing hurts (though the IVs are a tad bit pokey sometimes. =P ).

There's a reallyreallyreally good chance that I have Leukemia.

And it almost sounds over-dramatic now that I've written it there. Oh well...

I had gotten blood tests last Friday, because we thought I had Anemia.
My energy was practically non-existant, my heart would pump really fast and loud when I went a flight of stairs, and everyone said I looked unusually pale. I was getting random bruises all over me, without any idea where they had come from. My feet were spotty.
The results came back three days later that my platelets (in the blood, have to do with clotting) were only 13 (thousand, I think, it's still confusing), when they should have been 150, and a couple of other things were abnormal. The people at Olean General Hospital (OGH) couldn't figure out why I was still able to walk (I walked roughly 4 miles on Sunday, and did fine). They said I should go to the emergency room.

My mom did some quick researching, and we decided Strong Hospital was right, and we were already in Rochester anyway. So off we went to the ER, and they gave me another blood test to make sure the first was actually right (OGH doesn't have that great a reputation).
An Oncologist came in to talk to us once some of the labs had gone through. And he said that what I had was most likely Leukemia. He said the chance was about 75% that I had it. Later they found Leukemia cells that had been spit into my blood. So now the chance is almost zero that I DON'T have it.
I'm getting a bone marrow biopsy today, and then we'll know for sure.
And yeah. I don't think it has sunk in completely yet.
I don't know how many details you guys want. I might keep a blog/frequent notes, in case people are interested in what goes on (would you be?). Some of this stuff I find really interesting.

I'm SUPER excited to meet the music therapist. I finally realized yesterday that music therapy is something I want to seriously consider for an occupation. One of the nurses here said I can probably learn how (at least partly how, anyway) while I'm here. And that makes me extremely happy, because I don't think I would have pursued it if this hadn't happened.

Random note: They provide a TV with movies, TV (duh), games, and internet. But they don't allow Facebook. Yay laptop!

I changed out of the hospital gown today, and that's made me feel a bit more normal. I still haven't met any of the other teens on this floor, but I really want to. The rec room is right across from me. =D

I get to walk around pulling the IV stand along with me. It is a pole that is taller than I am, with six wheeled legs, and a bag full of the fluids they're pumping into me (salt water and glucose right now, I think). I named him Winnifred. We're deeply connected. In the form of a straw stuck into each of my arms. Charming.

The eraser on the whiteboard (which is telling me who the nurse is today, who is the tech, what number to call for food, and what the date is), looks exactly like a computer mouse. And, seeing as there's internet, I intelligently pulled it down, turned on the screen, and began moving the "mouse" around on the table. The little yellow arrow on the screen was not moving. I examined the bottom of the "mouse", and discovered there was only black felt on it. Ohhhhhhh it's an ERASER! Right. The keyboard has an attached trackball sort of mouse, but believe me, it does NOT look like a mouse. And the buttons are way on the other side of the keyboard. And the whole system is called "getwell:)network".

We called the Rochester dance booking person, there's no way I'm playing the dance tomorrow. And there's no way I'm playing Toronto on Saturday. And basically I have to cancel everything for at least a month. That's a LOT of stuff, as some of you are definitely aware of.

Anyway, there's some things for starters.
<3