Susan, as your blood numbers drop off from the AML and the chemo, your body will start reflecting the deficit. The decrease in red blood cells will leave you fatigued and breathless. The drop in platelets can have you finding bruises and dots all over in unexpected places. I used to make jokes about having to give up knife juggling for a while. But even little things like blowing my nose because a problem. I had a nosebleed out of the blue one day, thankfully while in the hospital for AML, that would not stop bleeding. The nurses had to pack my nose with gauze. Ironically, I was already hooked to the platelet IV. 😅

Those infusions of red blood are like breathing air into your body. Instant energy! So don’t fret too much about needing these infusions. They go with the territory. There are no awards given for having low blood numbers. Doesn’t mean you’re weak or failing. It just is what it is, collateral damage from the cancer and its treatments. However, hope is on the horizon. Generally once you have the transplant, all of that stops being necessary as your new cells will start taking over the housekeeping duties and will churn out new blood cells within a couple weeks.
If it helps, as I’ve mentioned before to other members going through a SCT, I thought of my new infusion of cells as minions! Did you see the movie, Despicable Me? It’s cute. Anyway I thought of the cells as the little yellow minions doing my bidding. Once I had the actual infusion of cells, Then later I began to think of them more as Imperial Storm Troopers from Star wars. LOL I even hummed Darth Vader’s theme song when I thought of the white blood cells circulating looking for trouble! 😉

So yes, m’dear this is all crazy. That’s why I call it an odyssey. It helps to have a sense of adventure, a sense of humor and to be flexible! You’ve got this!! 💕