Monday 27 April 2020

Second week of sheilding begins....


Whilst i am forced to hide away for my second week (of 12),  i am trying to convince myself i am avoiding becoming a burden to my NHS colleagues who are valiantly fighting this virus on a daily basis.....THEY are the real heros right now, and i think the picture above says it all.

Stay home, stay safe and protect the NHS..

Tuesday 21 April 2020

Covid-19 and Leukaemia. My return to Blogger April 2020.

So today it was confirmed that due to my CLL i am to remain at home for 12 weeks and not go to the hospital i have worked in for almost 24 years ๐Ÿคจ๐Ÿ˜

The reason is pretty simple. Having had CLL for almost 14 years , and even though i still remain on "watch and wait" i am deemed now to have enhanced vulnerability to the Coronavirus. 

The main issue is that my platelets are pretty low right now, around 124'000. The normal range is between 150'000 and 450'000, and this is a problem because several recent studies have identified a heightened risk for those with low platelet counts.

The condition is called thrombocytopenia. 

A few links to recent studies follows:

https://www.univadis.co.uk/viewarticle/covid-19-thrombocytopenia-tied-to-higher-risk-of-severe-disease-and-mortality-715766

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/service/diagnostic-services/haematology/haematology-itp-immune-thrombocytopenia/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jth.14848

These are strange and worrying times for many...and i have decided, that since i am now being confined to barracks, i may as well get my blogging head back on and perhaps pass on some news, views and the occasional bit of humour and trivia.

Stay safe, stay well, stay in ( unless you need to go out of course !) ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜Š