For those of you waiting to hear, I got some of my tests results back this morning. I definitely contracted a virus and it caused my liver to become severely inflamed, causing my platelet count to drop to the lowest level it has ever been - 70, 000 to be exact. The fact that my platelet count is so low is another sign that my liver function is decreasing. The only tests I am waiting on are those sent to Mayo, but while those will be good indicators of the status of my liver, they are irrelevant given this new report.
Platelets are the most important component in blood clotting. A person cannot get a platelet transfusion until the count is much much lower (these days you almost have to be near-dead to get a transfusion of any sort). So, the only treatment is to be on bed rest, eat foods high in protein to stimulate my bone marrow and not be alone for long periods of time in the event I fell or something. Any of those could cause internal bleeding. I also have many bruises - a tiny bump can cause a huge bruise!
Even though it's not good news, I feel it's better than finding out that they couldn't find anything. Now I can take action to get better and have hope that I will feel better in the future.
So it will be a time of relaxing this weekend and trying (hard) not to bump myself or fall!
