Smooth sailing

Yesterday's two appointments in Boston were a breeze. First came the clinic visit, then a bone density test at another location. I didn't get tired at all, except for my usual spot halfway back. Maybe it's because I had a driver (thanks, Barry!) On the way home, I was able to take a little nap.

The day started off well. Sometimes I rummage through my closet, avoiding my own advice to set aside clothes the night before. Yesterday I went closet shopping and put my hand right on a dress that I had forgotten about.

It was a J Jill black T-shirt dress in a smooth fabric with a bit of stretch. Diane had the dress first, and when I heard about it I raced out to get one, which I found on sale. It makes you feel dressed up without any effort. In my closet, I also found a lime-green lightweight sweater to go with it.

Of course my idea of getting "gussied up," in my mother's words, involves simply shedding my shorts or running pants for something a level up. Really dressed up I am not. But under the "look good feel good" philosophy, I like to look decent when I go to the clinic. Put on sandals and nice jewelry and I'm ready to go.

Plus it's one of the only places I go where I can put on "real" clothes. And, for good measure, I have this idea that if I look good, they won't find anything bad. Bit of magical thinking, but I know that. This does not go for when I'm feeling sick, of course. Then I wobble in without caring how I look.

Anyway, I "only" had to wait an hour to see Melissa. I had left a large gap between my clinic appointment (11 a.m.) and the bone density test (3 p.m.). As it turned out, we had a little time to kill, so we went to nearby Brookline, one of my old stomping grounds, for lunch. We drove down the pleasant tree-lined street where I lived, during graduate school, with five other grad students in a dilapidated Victorian.

Quick trip down memory lane: We ate dinner on a converted pool table and shared a kitchen, living room and two bathrooms that nobody wanted to clean. My parents were appalled. We studied and sunbathed on a porch roof that had no railing. I loved it...until I didn't.

Yesterday we saw that the house had been renovated, with structural shoring up, a new paint job, a railing on the porch roof and other improvements. It looked quite respectable.

Next we walked along Harvard Street in what is known as the Coolidge Corner area, stopping at a Jewish deli called Zoftigs, where my search for the perfect Reuben led to a delicious sandwich.

Onward for the bone density test, which took less than five minutes. I joked to the technician that I had put it off because I'm sure my bones are crumbling, but she wasn't amused. Results to come.

I'm putting my counts at the end; in case anyone is tired of hearing about them, you can stop reading here.

White blood cells: 8.0 (normal=3.8-9.2)

Hematocrit: 26.2 (normal=34.8-43.6); low, but up a little since last week

Platelets: 84 (normal=155-410); decent for me

Sodium: 126 (normal=135-145); still low, but up a little

Potassium: 4.6 (normal=3.5l-5.0)

My liver function was slightly better, and the result of a fasting glucose test was 63 (normal is 65-105). This is the number that had been so high – 400 – that they called me in the next day. Melissa said the low was probably because I was fasting.

A couple of weeks ago they decreased my tacrolimus from .5 milligrams twice a day to once a day. I realized about a week later that I had stopped shaking. What a relief.

Small victories, big help.