ATG &&

Its been 140 days since ATG treatment, and as of now it has been unsuccessful. The treatment is based in the thought that aplastic anemia is an autoimmune disease—the bodies white blood cells  have attacked it’s bone marrow, causing the marrow to fail and blood production to diminish. Since onset I’ve heard a variety of numbers concerning when and how long to wait to call it a success or failure—first 120 days, then 60 days, then 90, then 120 again. Just when I thought it was settled another physician(and aplastic anemia expert) explained that he generally waits 6 months before moving on to another treatment. I wish they could call a meeting and decide.

The next step is—as I’ve noted before—bone marrow transplant, or at the least preparing for it. While I have continued to speak with transplant doctors and begin to read into the transplant process my mind sometimes plays out a comical scenario. I imagine myself celebrating Lincoln’s birthday with an admittance to the hospital. I’m all ready to go for transplant, gowned, poked, prodded, when the results of my pre-treatment testing return and reveal my blood counts have returned to normal. ATG has worked, albeit not on schedule. Doctors look at one another repeating 120 days, or 90 or 60 or whatever they’ve decided on. Insurance companies argue with hospitals about the whether my six hours in-patient can be charged at the full day’s rate. The healthcare drama plays out gloriously.

I mentioned this scenario  to one of the coordinators at the clinic while awaiting a transfusion. She, being a professional, explained it to be “highly unlikely.”

“Sort of like the chance of being diagnosed with aplastic anemia? ” I added, grinning, begging for a smile.

She looked down at her notes uncomfortably and pretended she missed it.

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