I woke up the same as every day and walked from home to the stop to take the bus from Moss to Oslo. Just as the bus was approaching, I felt lightheaded and sat down on the bench, deciding to sit and rest. I’d take the next bus if I felt better or call my wife to get me if I didn’t improve. Up to this point I had been the healthiest person I knew of. I had taken two sick days in eighteen years. I was the guy who was never sick, but I starting feeling nauseous as the bus pulled up and decided to call my wife.
The next thing I know I’m on the ground and the bus driver is standing over me asking if I am OK. I’d passed out and hit my head on the pavement. The bus driver helped me back up onto the bench and called my wife for me. He waited with me the few minutes it took for her to arrive, at the cost of everyone on the bus being late into Oslo. I need to remember to write to the bus company and sing his praises.
My wife drove me to the local ER here in Moss where the nurses took great care of me and tried to figure what was wrong. Nothing presented itself so they just nursed me as best they could. When the doctor arrived, he was young and arrogant, asked me a few questions, listened to my heart and was about to send me home, telling me to call my doctor and have him figure it out.
I’m not sure what happened but he suddenly had a change of heart. I suspect its because our friend and neighbor, who is an ER nurse arrived for her shift and saw me in the hall, seeing the state I was in she recognized that that I was not the Brian she knew and that something was seriously wrong with me. Apparently I had no color and “så ikke ut” as they say here in Norway. I need to check if this was in fact the case but something changed quickly and I was referred to the regional hospital for further examination. Whatever the details that made it happen, I have no doubt this was God at work in my situation making sure that I got what I needed and not just sent home to sit on the sofa and watch Magnum PI reruns.
My wife, who is my partner in this, drove me to the hospital and helped me get admitted. They took blood tests and measurements and all sorts of other tests. After it was all analyzed they saw the my blood levels were low – low platelets, low white blood cells and low HB levels, I’m not sure what all that means but it isn’t anything good, I can assure you of that.
Since my lay in my blood I was admitted to the cancer and blood disease unit. My first hint as to how serious this really was.
I also developed a black eye from when I hit the ground at the bus stop. It was quite Alex DeLarge-esque and made me feel kind of cool.
I don’t remember much more about that afternoon or evening. I took more blood tests; my wife came back and I had an incredibly tasty meal of meat and scalloped potatoes smothered in gravy with steamed vegetables on the side. It was good enough that I can remember that among all the other things that happened and were forgotten.
On the Brightside
I passed out for no apparent reason and that lead to the doctors discovering and diagnosing this horrible disease inside of me. I’m glad something happened to attract attention to the mess brewing in my bones. I was otherwise healthy and felt good and would never have had any reason to believe that the Leukemia was there.
