Okay so I left you yesterday at March 2016 when I was going in for a hernia operation but before I continue on with that I should provide you with some details that started to occur back when I was 45 years old, some 16 years ago.
I went for a doctor appointment for I think for the first time since I was a kid and he said rather nonchalantly that my white blood cell count was rather low. He wanted to recommend a hematologist to me and that I should be expecting a phone call from one shortly. Well after that appointment he mentioned to me he was going to London Ontario about a 2 hour drive away to visit his Mom. A couple of days later we received a phone call from his receptionist to say that on that road trip he had an accident and got killed. Very sad news indeed. So with that my ensuing appointment probably got lost and was never put through. Then quickly thereafter we actually moved to a condo townhouse so that meant getting a hold of us got harder. Finally we found a new family doctor and she did some bloodwork. My white blood cell count was still low so she got a hematologist lined up for me.
So for the next few years I kept going to this hematologist who noticed my spleen was enlarged. The white blood cell count became more of a side issue to the spleen so every three months he would send me for bloodwork and an ultrasound on my abdomen to check my spleen. In fact I was going for so many ultrasounds that at 7am when I would go to the hospital to get one I had the same doctor. He chuckled and asked if I was wanting to become the first man to have a baby. Each follow up visit I had with the hematologist he would give me very little information other than to say he couldn't figure out what I had and that my spleen was still enlarged but other than that it was all he could say. It became very frustrating for me to go there and have this done every 3 months with no idea of what I had. Finally I had enough and just told him if he does not know what I have find someone who does or just do something. After all I was running around at the Keg and feeling no pain and felt in pretty good shape. On my last visit he asked about a bone marrow biopsy in Toronto. Finally! I had enough though and said good bye. That was a couple of years before the hernia operation so the time between I did not get checked out or anything. Going through the job changes etc. kept me busy so as not to think about my spleen or white blood cells.
So I have this hernia operation and it was what people call a sports hernia. It was big and fat around my groin so they had to cut to fix it. No arthroscopic repair of the hernia which would have been much better. I was off for 3 weeks only before I returned to work. Not enough time for healing but as we know here in Canada you do not get paid if you do not work. Therefore my return was painful and had me working at half speed.
Then I think it was my doctor who called and reminded me that it had been awhile since I had my bloodwork done. I got the requisition and followed through and got it done. A couple of days later at work I received a call at work which I never do and it was the doctor's office advising me that they sent to the lab some more bloodwork to be done because my hemoglobin was just above 80 and if it went below that I would need a blood transfusion. Well that was a shock because I always thought it was my white blood cells that were the problem.
Thinking quick I went to the pharmacist who I was on a first name basis because I was always there getting stuff for my Mom. He gave me these pills and said take a couple of these and this should raise your hemoglobin a bit. I took them and redid the bloodwork and it shot above 90. Crisis averted and I thought little of it. I was working a lot.
One thing I did notice though is when I came home really late I was dead on my feet and instead of staying up an hour or so to wind down with a beer and catch the game on television I just crawled into bed. That was not normal for me.
So right then I had a bad back because I was favouring the side where my hernia was that was still sore with a strange blood condition that seemed to be getting worse.
More tomorrow...
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