So, I talk to quite a few of you regularly on this site, I’ve been out of contact for a few days and wish to explain why.

On Tuesday, I awoke at about 10 pm with a severe headache, chills, and bluish gums and lips. I was in pain, I was hypoxic, I had turned a ghastly shade of ashen yellow, and so I went to a hospital.

It was funny: the triage nurse thought I was wearing “zombie makeup” until he couldn’t dislodge the “makeup”, when he actually commented that he’d never seen a living person my particular shade of pale (he really emphasized the ‘living’… far more than I would expect from a medical professional). He measured my blood pressure as 80/45, which was quite low; my O2 Saturation was 78, which was dangerously low. After an interview and a blood draw, the doctor on duty cleared me for my first blood transfusion, and I was admitted to the hospital. I had wanted to play dead and scare an intern or two while I was still pale and corpselike, but sadly my comedic sensibilities were deemed not conducive to a climate of healing. I was transfused with two more units that night. My blood pressure was 90/60 and my SpO2 had risen to 87, before I was sent away to the ward.

On Wednesday, the next morning, my oncologist visited. I had a paradoxical reaction to a drug meant to boost my red blood cell production; in that it caused hemolytic anemia—in brief a destruction of red blood cells. He ordered some scans and tests, which to my great relief came back clean. I’ll have a few more doses of chemo, just to be safe; but that period is looking more or less over.

I had a few more transfusions over Wednesday and Thursday and was on supplemental oxygen until early Thursday evening.

It was not an unpleasant stay. I had proper food for the first time in a few weeks. I tried almond milk for the first time and found that I like it. My roommate was about my age, a relative rarity in my experience, but was not the talkative sort and spent his time watching a marathon of The Adventures of Pete and Pete. I was aware of Pete and Pete, but had never watched it; still, I must confess it aroused some feelings of nostalgia. I have the theme song, “Hey Sandy”, stuck in my head. I read Motel of the Mysteries, which I now realize is a children’s book. I’ve rediscovered my love of programming/coding, something I haven’t really done since I was in high school. I also got quite a bit of work done.

I would like to thank those of you I’ve been talking with: the last couple of months have showed me that I’m much less of an introvert than I thought—your continued contact has saved my sanity. I would also like to thank you for supporting me financially (u/starry_soda: I was exactly $0.63 short for my bill, before I remembered you, thank you). This is somewhat embarrassing: I am seeking about $80, for what will hopefully be either my last or penultimate chemo session on Monday. (My CashApp tag is $JackHF84; my Venmo tag is @JackHF84; I also use Zelle and will give my phone number in private messages.)

Incidentally, I met a doctor from my alma mater, although we took different paths there. If you are under 26, have some background in math or the natural sciences, are willing to learn in Spanish, and would like to attend medical school, please consider applying to the Latin American School of Medicine (Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina). You’ll be given a mostly free medical education, I believe you’ll graduate from a six-year combined Bachelor’s and M.D. program; those of you from the US will take all parts of the USMLE, meaning you’ll be able to practice in the US. To the best of my knowledge, they still favor those from historically disadvantageous backgrounds. I’m not the best source of information, but feel free to message me if you have any questions and hopefully, I can point you in the right direction.