Friday, November 5, 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

My Halloween look is one week off. Walking around with one bright red eye would have drawn compliments last Friday night, but today it’s generating concerned questions.

Yesterday I had just gotten back to my office after the annual “wear-the-USC College-lapel-pin-and-pearls-to-schmooze-donors-and-congratulate-student-scholarship-winners” banquet. My assistant had trailed me to my desk to give me the late-breaking happenings when she stopped mid-sentence to say, “Look at me – your eye just turned all red. You better look at it in a mirror.” Obviously a blood vessel had broken. Not a big deal, but when folks know you are a walking bleeding problem, they predictably fuss more than something like this might otherwise warrant.

I’ve been maintaining all week that I’ve been fine and feel fine, and as my friend Wendy says, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But this morning at the hospital, in addition to falling platelets (105, for those of you keeping track) and still low white blood cell count, my glucose was low, even after breakfast, and my blood pressure slightly low. So after getting today’s treatment, I figured it wouldn’t be the worst thing for USC College, or me, if I just went home and took it easy for the rest of the day.

As they passed by in the clinic, just about every nurse who has taken care of me so far asked if my eye hurt (it doesn’t) and if it’s affecting my vision (it’s not). Last night Barbara offered to have her husband, Jerry, the ophthalmologist, take a look at it, but the simple upshot is that it should resolve on its own over the next few days. I’m hoping it at least fades by Sunday so the ward choir members don’t have to look at it while I’m directing. Or maybe I should look for a bright red contact lens for the other eye. . . .

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