Life with Leukemia: Old people sense of humor

Monday we went to Huntsman to have some labs drawn then over to U of U for a visit with the ID doctors. It should have been quick, but for whatever reason still took 3 hours…ish. We have a routine when we get to the Huntsman clinic. I always sit in the same chair while Tyler goes to check in. On that day however someone had turned the hallway into a wind tunnel. Literally my hair was blowing. I made Tyler sit inside the clinic (there are only a few chairs inside, the rest are in the hallway). As we waited I did what I love to do best at these visits. I people watched, and I wasn’t disappointed with the crowd. I listened to a nurse telling her co-workers about how she can feel her baby kick at night, awwww. I noticed a new girl behind the desk checking people in and was thoroughly impressed with how fast she was for being so new. It made me miss working, then I stopped missing working and went back to watching. I listened as a old man came in and by the look of his warm welcome he is obviously a regular. He got tons of hugs! As he waited his turn he turned to the new girl and said:

Old man “I like your beads” she was wearing a pearl necklace with lots of strands

New girl “thanks!”

Pause…

Old man “Did you get them in New Orleans?”

Then he gave himself an I’m pretty funny chuckle and went back to reading his newspaper. HILARIOUS. People with cancer have a different lease on life. I’ve loved watching how they can be less reserved. Did I write about the lady wearing a cape last visit? No inhibitions. And why would they? When your told you have a disease that can end your life early you definitely learn to let go.

Also while we waited a lady came up with a snack cart full of yummy treats (oreos, granola bars real ones not even store brand, sun chips) and some beverages.

At the U hospital we got in pretty quickly. The tech here offered us more snacks, but really all the had was an assortment of crackers which didn’t stop Tyler. Not the same. We met with Dr. W and H. They both agreed that he would stop taking the antibacterial medicine. They checked the results of Tyler’s blood work from that morning. His platelets were just a little lower then last time, but they think these antibacterials are probably causing some of that. They gave us a run down of what happens with low platelets, which we already knew, Tyler tried to make a funny joke about avoiding razors, that didn’t go over well a joke is never great if you have to explain it.

Tyler’s numbers:

You already know the platelets were still low

WBC: 6.2 or maybe 6.5…  I don’t remember

Potassium… great

Everything else…. normal!

So pretty much he’s normal. Well… I mean… you know. The ID doc was talking about how even though his WBC is normal there are still bad cells in there, but it’s not affecting him much.

We didn’t run into any moaners, screamers, or scary people this trip. It was pleasant.