That's right. I was being prescribed steroids and I wouldn't even have to hide it from the Saskatoon and District Soccer Association. I was already day dreaming about how powerful my shot was going to be and how much faster I would run. What? They aren't anabolic steroids, the Specialist told me. So much for legally bulking up.
I was told I would need to take 60mg of Prednisone a day to get my platelet count back up again. There are a few side effects like increased appetite, moodines, chest pains, trouble sleeping, etc. but nothing too serious. I was told to take the pills and come back in two days for more bloodwork. As the Specialist and his bodyguards left, I was told I could leave after I gave another blood test. I started to wonder what they had done with the tubes they had just taken. Oh well, I figured as I once again rolled up my sleeve for another needle.
The roids didn't change me much. I was my normal tired, moody, eating too much, doubling over with chest pain self at work the next day. But I did show a lot of people my bruised leg and told them the story. And then that afternoon it happened.
Stay tuned for "Terminated" as this saga continues...
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Call 911 - The Specialist
I squeezed my car into the free parking at the RUH Emergency room (do people not realize that you are suppose to part between the yellow lines, not on them) and registered myself with the receptionist (nurses). I was quickly taken to the kids section of the ER and given a little bed in the corner to wait for the specialist. Of course, before the specialist comes in I first have to get more blood work done. So down come the lab people to jab me for some blood. As I was talking to the nurse and telling her about my platelet count she couldn't believe I was operating in such a good manner. The Medi Clinic doctor had mentioned something about this too and I had just shrugged it off. I thought I felt fine, but they made it sound like I should be half dead already and no longer walking. Since I'm always tired anyway I guess I never realized that I was suppose to be "fatigued". I asked her how long I was going to be in the hospital and when she said 2-3 hours I quickly placed a call in to work to let them know my lunch break was going a little longer than normal.
Finally, the Specialist entered my curtained room. I sat up from my cramped bed (remember these are kids beds so I can't even fully lay down on them) only to realize after the introductions that this was just a precursor to seeing the Specialist. I felt like I was trying to talk to someone in government over the phone but you keep getting transferred around instead. Actually, the intern was very nice and after answering a million questions I went back to sleep, being assured that the Specialist would be coming soon.
I heard the curtain being pulled back and when I opened my eyes I was surrounded by the Specialist and his 2 bodyguards. I couldn't believe it...it was actually him. The Specialist. A blood specialist to be more specific (though not very technical). This was it. I was getting the low down. After throwing out all the medical terms and phrases that blew right past me, he started to speak English. Apparently they figured I had ITP, (read more about ITP), which means my body thinks the platelets are bad and gets rid of them, causing my blood not to clot which shows up as bruising. He said he was not concerned yet, but I would need to go onto steroids.
Stay tuned for "Life on Roids" as this saga continues...
Finally, the Specialist entered my curtained room. I sat up from my cramped bed (remember these are kids beds so I can't even fully lay down on them) only to realize after the introductions that this was just a precursor to seeing the Specialist. I felt like I was trying to talk to someone in government over the phone but you keep getting transferred around instead. Actually, the intern was very nice and after answering a million questions I went back to sleep, being assured that the Specialist would be coming soon.
I heard the curtain being pulled back and when I opened my eyes I was surrounded by the Specialist and his 2 bodyguards. I couldn't believe it...it was actually him. The Specialist. A blood specialist to be more specific (though not very technical). This was it. I was getting the low down. After throwing out all the medical terms and phrases that blew right past me, he started to speak English. Apparently they figured I had ITP, (read more about ITP), which means my body thinks the platelets are bad and gets rid of them, causing my blood not to clot which shows up as bruising. He said he was not concerned yet, but I would need to go onto steroids.
Stay tuned for "Life on Roids" as this saga continues...
Call 911 - The results
So my wife and I went in to get some blood work done on Tues Aug 16th. We just went to a local MediClinic the day before but the doctor sent me home for a day so I could fast before the tests. He was pretty sure that my bruise was just a bad injury, but since we insisted on getting all the tests done he let us and said he'd phone in a few days with any results. I got home from work on Tues and the Medi Clinic had phoned wanting to see me. That was fast, I thought. Of course when I phoned back they were closed so I just decided to phone from work the next day.
On my Wed lunch break I went down to the clinic to get my results. I didn't have to wait long before I was ushered into a room. The doctor came in right away and let me know that something was wrong. My platelet count (the cells in the blood that help clot the blood) were extremely low. A normal person has approx. 150,000 platelets. I had 16,000. I graduated from Commerce so I did the math. This wasn't good. The doctor insisted that I immediately see a specialist at the Emergency at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) and left the room to go make the arrangements. As I drove off to RUH I started thinking that this lunch break was definately going to be longer than 1 hour.
Stay tuned for "The Specialist" when this story continue...
On my Wed lunch break I went down to the clinic to get my results. I didn't have to wait long before I was ushered into a room. The doctor came in right away and let me know that something was wrong. My platelet count (the cells in the blood that help clot the blood) were extremely low. A normal person has approx. 150,000 platelets. I had 16,000. I graduated from Commerce so I did the math. This wasn't good. The doctor insisted that I immediately see a specialist at the Emergency at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) and left the room to go make the arrangements. As I drove off to RUH I started thinking that this lunch break was definately going to be longer than 1 hour.
Stay tuned for "The Specialist" when this story continue...
Call 911 - The beginning
(This "Call 911" story is more of an update on my medical condition and life right now. I'll tell you now it is all true)
Ok, don't call 911. It's not quite that serious. Yet. I went paintballing about 1.5 months ago and got shot in the leg a few times. No big deal right. Except that the bruises got bigger and bigger all along the side of my thigh. I thought it was cool and was showing it off...no big deal. Then a couple weeks later a guy from Toon Town (soccer team in Men's Div 3) slide tackled me from behind and nearly broke my leg. I kept playing but at the end of the game I rolled my ankle as well and had to hobble off. I thought nothing of it (but yes I did slide tackle that guy back cleanly and he got so mad he punched me in the back and swore at me for a few minutes. Of couse the ref was blind and didn't even card him) and went on home. However, over the next few days I watched as my entire leg from the knee down turned purple with a large bruise and it started to swell. My wife (an EMT) and a few of our friends (nurses) thought I should get it checked out by getting some blood work done. I was fine with that. It wasn't hurting much and I was still playing soccer, but I knew something was wrong as I had never bruised like that before.
Stay tuned for more...
Ok, don't call 911. It's not quite that serious. Yet. I went paintballing about 1.5 months ago and got shot in the leg a few times. No big deal right. Except that the bruises got bigger and bigger all along the side of my thigh. I thought it was cool and was showing it off...no big deal. Then a couple weeks later a guy from Toon Town (soccer team in Men's Div 3) slide tackled me from behind and nearly broke my leg. I kept playing but at the end of the game I rolled my ankle as well and had to hobble off. I thought nothing of it (but yes I did slide tackle that guy back cleanly and he got so mad he punched me in the back and swore at me for a few minutes. Of couse the ref was blind and didn't even card him) and went on home. However, over the next few days I watched as my entire leg from the knee down turned purple with a large bruise and it started to swell. My wife (an EMT) and a few of our friends (nurses) thought I should get it checked out by getting some blood work done. I was fine with that. It wasn't hurting much and I was still playing soccer, but I knew something was wrong as I had never bruised like that before.
Stay tuned for more...
The Adventure Begins
Ah, the very first post of this blog! I can't wait to start writing my stories for you to read, enjoy and ponder whether or not they are fact or fiction. Please be sure to put down what you think of the story and whether it is fact or fiction in the Comments section at the bottom of each post. I'd love to hear from you.
I'm also going to be using this blog as a way to update you on my regular life adventures. My life has been like a roller coaster lately so check back to this blog frequently to find out more in the extraordinary adventures of Sheldon Mathies.
I'm also going to be using this blog as a way to update you on my regular life adventures. My life has been like a roller coaster lately so check back to this blog frequently to find out more in the extraordinary adventures of Sheldon Mathies.
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