December 31, 2025

Hospital. Still here. Day 8. Turned out the problem with low blood counts was due to an ulcer that was bleeding. Apparently I lost a lot of blood. But because I also have end stage renal disease, my body is very slooooow to make blood. So I still don't have enough blood in my body to maintain good oxygen saturation. So I've been having fun experiences like waking up in the middle of the night in full blown respiratory distress, waking amidst a terrifying panic, and taking a huge amount of time to calm down and regulate my breathing. The ulcer is no longer bleeding, so now it's just a matter of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting for my blood to replenish. One doc says maybe I could go home Friday-ish. Another says maybe I could go home sometime next week. In other words, they don't know when, and it's a matter of watching lab results, and I go home when I'm ready to go home.