I am fine today.
I went to UH this morning to measure the induration diameter due to the Mantoux test.
“Very big,” the nurse who did the measurement said.
Yes, indeed it was very big. The diameter was 18mm :-(
For a person who underwent organ transplant or taking immunosuppressant like me, a mere 5mm is considered positive, but now I scored a beautiful 18mm. This extraordinary response indicated that I had been exposed to tuberculosis (TB) bacteria.
Apart from coughing, weight lost is another notable symptom of TB. After the Chinese New Year, I was supposed to gain weight due to the abundant supply of delicious foods but on the contrary, I lost 2kg of weight. Many people also said that I am getting thinner.
The ESR test gave a reading of 28 mm/hr. The normal range for an adult is from 3 to 13 mm/hr, but some laboratories placed an upper limit of 20mm/hr. So a reading of 28 mm/hr is not considered significant.
Dr. Bee (Hematologist) referred me to the chest clinic for further investigation and treatment if necessary. I have to visit the chest clinic either tomorrow afternoon or next Wednesday morning.
While I was waiting to see the hematologist in the hematology ward, I met an Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) patient whom I visited while she did her chemotherapy in the ward. As we changed shape so much after the treatment, we couldn’t recognize each other initially. After some conversation, she told me that she is an ALL patient from Sarawak. I asked for her name and confirmed that she was the one that I visited earlier.
She was so glad to meet me. She is going for stem cell transplant soon, and somehow she is anxious about it. I explained to her my transplant experience and this encouraged her very much.
“David can do it, I can do it too!” she said.
Yes, I believe she can do it.
May God bless her!
See you next post :-)
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