There is an odd satisfaction in getting CBC labs drawn, which is done just to see that everything is normal — or at least on a trend towards normal. This trend towards normal has generally been the case for Clark since his BMT.
Unfortunately, during his last visit with hematology, two of Clark’s lab results came back low. Before his BMT, Clark would have a blood transfusion if hemoglobin was below 8 (normal is ~12). On this result, Clark’s hemoglobin dropped to 6.6! Panicked Mama here! His platelets were holding steady in the normal range (normal is 150-450) after his BMT, but they also came back low at 71. Thankfully, 71 isn’t in the “danger zone,” but there must be a reason for the drop. Why?
Clark’s hematologist personally looked at Clarks blood smear for any abnormalities. Good news! Clark’s blood has many new cells. His bone marrow is producing blood, and his white blood cells look great. So, it doesn’t look like this is aplastic anemia.
Since iron is generally found in hemoglobin, Clark now has iron deficiency anemia. He has started taking iron supplements, and he will have another CBC in a couple of weeks to see if this improve his blood counts.
I have also noticed that Clark occasionally has a small amount of blood on his toilet paper after going to the bathroom. The hematologist believes this may be an indication of the cause for the drop in blood counts. I’m sure there will be more tests to come.