SUNDAY — a day of rest

Well, not quite!  I left shortly before they were going to remove a sample of bone marrow from her breast bone. Ouch!  This might normally be taken from the pelvic bone but currently Nancy can’t be turned over.  Anyway, when taking a sample with a needle (or syringe) it is called aspiration.  I’ve confirmed that the sample was taken but results are not back in the ICU.

Apparently a rapidly inflating and deflating balloon in an artery can whack a few blood cells and over time decrease their number.  This is just one of the reasons why the balloon pump is not a long term fix to the profusion issue.  The examination today is meant to strengthen the view that the pause seen in the recent increase in Nancy’s platelet count is balloon-caused and not from any problem in blood production in the marrow.

Nancy and I visited with the doctor that had inserted the balloon pump and a team hematologist.  The latter’s view is of interest because Nancy’s blood cells reacted so strongly to the heparin and in the coming operation it will be the skill of the hematologist that balances the competing ‘clotting / not-clotting’ characteristics of her blood.

They did numb the area and gave her a pain pill and as I write this at about 5:30 she is sleeping.