Unarmed

When the doctors said there was a low count of neutrophils in the body, I was wondering what the hell they were. Why couldn't they just say white blood cells for mortals like me to understand. In school, I studied about white blood corpuscles and red blood corpuscles and that the white corpuscles protect the body from all illnesses. Little learning was not dangerous then. Today, that knowledge is enhanced and the more aware I have become, the more worried I am. That is a perilous state of mind.

When the body's platelet or blood count reduces, there are instant solutions. Platelet and blood from donors can be infused into a patient to at least level it up to a safe degree. In simple terms, platelets are clotting devices in the blood and if you have little platelet you increase your risk of bleeding even from a simple cut. And low level of red blood cells of course reduces the haemoglobin and other things - you tire easily as the oxygen supply in the body is reduced. Now, white blood cells cannot be transfused. So herein lies the acute problem. If a person has low white cells, he runs the risk of infection. You are like an unarmed kingdom vulnerable to invasions from the enemies of the world.

The bone marrow produces the white cells. A bone marrow biopsy reveals the count of these blood cells in the body. Why the marrow stops producing neutrophils ia big question in our case? Sometimes, use of certain drugs represses the marrow, say doctors, or that the marrow develops its own problem. Either way, it is a scary scenario. Imagine having no power to ward off even a small bacteria that sits on an itchy skin.

But medical sciences have advanced. So doctors recommend various treatment. In some, they detoxify the bone marrow by flushing out everything from the marrow so that it starts regenerating anew all its components. When it starts is a wait and watch step. It takes anywhere between 2-3 weeks, say doctors. Till then, the body is fed antibiotics, loads of drugs, various mouthwashes, etc., etc. to ward off any infection. It is a delicate situation. If at all, the marrow stops regenerating the cells, then a stem cell transfer is the way out.

This is my knowledge and understanding of what is going on. But there are some things that medical sciences cannot explain. That is, miracles do happen. I can see it.