Vampires Wouldn't Want Me

I went for lab work this morning and the results were not satisfactory.  I've been denied chemo this week.  I think this makes the 4th or 5th time I haven't been able to stay on schedule.  I had a blood transfusion a few months ago, then I had another one just last week.  Looks like I might be headed for a third.  I suspected something was wrong because I'm covered in bruises, and some seem to appear spontaneously.

So sure enough, I was told this morning that I have another new side effect to add to my repertoire.  These bruises apparently have a name:  purpura; and more specifically, my assortment of bruises include "petechiae."  Sounds icky.  Petechiae are small, red bruises, less than the diameter of a no. 2 pencil eraser.  They're caused by leaking capillaries (versus trauma-related bruising) due to low platelets.  The normal range of platelets in a given unit of blood is 150-400.  Mine are at 9.

I'm also anemic (low red blood cells), which explains why I'm pale and more tired than usual, and my white blood cells are also low.  I was told to avoid eating certain veggies and fruits, and to stay away from people so I won't get sick.  The latter might be a problem since people seem to exist all over the place.

Basically, I'm running on blood that's not really blood, because if I don't have platelets, red cells and white cells, I'm not sure what's left except for the beer I drank this past weekend.