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Survival Through the Worst of Times

As Told By: Anonymous

Five years ago, I was at work when my boss walked by me, took one look, and kept on going. When I got home, my father-in-law (who is also the pastor of my church) was waiting for me. He told to go to the emergency room immediately, but I told him I was tired. I just wanted to take a shower and go to sleep. When I got out of the shower, my father-in-law said I had a phone call at his house; it was a good friend of mine who also told me to go to the ER. He said that he would meet me there.

When I got to the ER, the nurses were throwing a sheet over my head. They had already taken a blood sample and found 5,000 platelets in my body. So I was DOA - Dead On Arrival. "Wait a minute - I'm not dead!" I told them. The ER doctor came in. I was purple and scratching like I was a dog in a flea circus. They started screaming at me to stop scratching and not move; they said I was at great risk of intracranial hemorrhage. This happened one year and four months after my daughter was born, and my son was born the same year. The doctors gave me some strong drugs and sent me up to the seventh floor. I was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and they gave me a bag of winRho: a bag of platelets.

The next morning, the doctor read the CBC and decided that I had a choice of either chemo or splenectomy. I chose to have my spleen taken out. In the meantime, I was taking 100 mg of prednisone, some antibiotics, and I don't know how much morphine they were giving me. This went on for quite some time. Hydrocodones - I hate that stuff. The prednisone was causing osteoporosis, and immunosuppression increases risk of infection, which limits my activites greatly. I have high hopes and try hard to be useful again, but I face the facts. So now I'm being treated for chronic pain syndrome, migraine headaches, and depression. Over time, my back has gone bad; I went to a pain management doctor and had three epidurals in my back. I take 5 mg of valium three times a day. It can be stronger on some days, but I follow directions. I don't need any more issues; I'm only taking more when I really need it.

I go to neurologists for my daily migraines. I take 10 mg of Maxalt no more than twice a day and no more than thrice a week, 400 mg of zonegrane a day, 12 mg of Gabitril three times a day, 180 mg of Allegra a day, 10 mg of cyclobenzaprine HCL three times a day, 300 mg of Effexor XR once a day - and to top it all off, I take 10 mg of Crestor once a day. I went to an ears-nose-throat doctor for heart-burn and found hyatal hernia. I really need Nexem 40 (the purple pill) - it stops the burning very fast. For the last six weeks, my feet to my hips hurt, and they look like I got elephantiasis. If you can come up with an effective pill that I can swallow without having to use a plunger, that would be great. So, in the meantime, I am open for ideas. I am alone at home during the day and my wife is too tired after work to do much, so I get frozen pizza - it's pretty good. And my children think they are the two stooges at home; when they go out, they're the best.

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