32,000

That was my platelet count today.

No way to sugar coat it. This is bad news. To say otherwise, to borrow for my last post would stink up the place with the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity.

Before I go into the details of what I see in my road ahead, I need to thank a few people.

The radiologist at St Jude triple booked my CT scan, the lab staff stayed late to redraw my blood (and give me a proud tour of their new facility), Dr. Sharma acted quickly and decisively to get the ball rolling, Dr. Forman weighted in and seconded the plan expeditiously by email, the nurses were all great getting the paperwork aligned, the scheduling staff at the hospital and at the clinic wrought miracles, and my wife was right there for me.

It will all be fine, just different and busier, but fine. Have no doubts. It will all be fine.

No panic, please. No big changes. I am just turning off the cruise control and driving myself, with a lot of help from my friends. I am still heading to a place of a healthy old age. And I still plan to have a hell of a time getting there. No stinking ITP is going to spoil my fun.