[Magdalen] Medical update (& honestly, gettin' a little scary).

[M J _Mike_ Logsdon]

Yesterday evening I left the Stanford dermatological people feeling pretty good, because they seemed pleased with how things are going, if not exactly well yet, with the legs and feet.  A new med was being added to the gout med (the new one meant to shut down [slow down?] my autoimmune system temporarily - yay), and the red rash on the tops of my feet I thought was merely more vasculitis run amock, turns out to be an unintentionally self-inflicted allergy to triple antibiotic ointment, that which I've been using exclusively to both keep the wounds moist AND prevent bacterial growth.  (Applying it exclusively to open wounds amounts to introducing it directly to the blood stream, which doesn't like such things, and hence the allergic reaction.)  So, no more of that, Vaseline only, and steroidal cream to the rash until gone (hopefully).

I had insisted on some hope this go'round, and got it.  Then today the phone rang.

1)  Seems the red blood cell count in my urine is abnormally high, so another doc enters the picture, a urologist, but thankfully down here in Salinas.

2)  And it also seems that since January when they first started sucking my blood on a regular basis, each time my white blood count has been getting higher, and higher, etc, till now it's at a level that isn't officially alarming, but way too high considering how cancer has not yet been fully ruled out, AND what with my family history.  So, yet another doc at the Stanford Cancer Center, this time a hematologist.  I've already been warned that a bone marrow biopsy could be in the picture.  I'm practicing my kicking and screaming just in case.

The truly (and now appears, only) good news from yesterday was that when they looked at my torso for the potential lymphoma rash I've been putting the steroidal cream on, they said "Wow! Looks a lot better!", to which I retorted "Aha! And you didn't even know I've not been using the cream as regularly as I should! That means the progress is TRULY real!"  They heartily agreed.