Until today, I had never received a blood transfusion. Due to my hemoglobin being so low, it was necessary. I received two units of “packed blood” which means that they can choose what is needed by the patient and give that to them. Before the blood transfusion was started, I was given two Tylenol and they started a saline unit and a unit of Benadryl piggyback on my catheter. The Tylenol was given to help with any discomfort and the Benadryl was given to help with any allergic reactions. The blood was started after about fifteen minutes and each unit took about 2 hours to administer.

We are leaving in about 30 minutes to check into the hospital for the next phase of the treatment. A.G. (our oldest son) and will be coming in tomorrow to stay with me and let Arthur go home for a week. A.G. is my web master and will keep the web site updated. I will dictate to him and he will do the updates.