50/100 WORDS
Boom! We’re Exchanging Your Plasma
Thrifty Word Challenge 100: #19 and 50: #40: Plasma
It looks like the saga of my new autoimmune illness and the quest to find a treatment to control it still has a way to run. The latest episode is that my doctors made the decision to step up therapy in an effort to get my life — and body — back to the old normal.
Will it work? I know not. I had a visit from an anesthetist, to tell me what I could expect from having a cannula inserted in my groin. Nice.
Then my doctors came to explain in detail why they are suggesting this next step of plasma exchange, and what the pros and cons are. Plasma Exchange, “also known as plasmapheresis, is a way to “clean” your blood. It works sort of like kidney dialysis. During the treatment, plasma — the liquid part of your blood — gets replaced with plasma from a donor or with a plasma substitute.”
As luck would have it, I have a friend who also has myasthenia gravis, and whose condition is maintained beautifully by this medical procedure. My hope is that it has a similar positive effect on me.
