The Sniffles

I had the tickets, had the car rented, had the cat-sitter booked but then I had the sniffles.

We were supposed to be on an airplane tomorrow afternoon to go to Colorado and see my Mom and Dad. We were supposed to be helpful, fixing air conditioners, pulling weeds, cleaning closets for about 48 hours in the Big Sky Country. But...

Early Monday I started sneezing, my nose started dripping, my throat began to close. Understand that San Fernando Valley has an air quality rating of "Unhealthful" right now, so it may be allergies, but there is also a cold going around. I can't go home with a cold.

One of the side-effects or symptoms of MDS is lower white blood cell count. When it falls too low, it's called "Neutropenia" or the patient is "Neutropenic". When my Dad is neutropenic, which is pretty much weekly right now, he is highly susceptible to bugs, viruses, any type of cold, flu, germ, etc...

I had to make a decision. If it was just allergies and I decide to not go, I miss the chance to hang out with my Dad when he's on an upswing. If it's a cold and I decide to go, it could make him really, really sick. Now the adage, "Better Safe than Sorry" comes to mind in this dilemma. BUT, there are no guarantees how he'll be feeling should I take off to see them in September, October or even next week. When you have MDS, ya live every day fully. I didn't want to miss out on an opportunity.

BUT, the old adage won out. Better Safe than Sorry. We are all bummed that I'm not going, but I'm happy that none of us will worry about his health because of something I inadvertently carried with me into their home that had the potential to make him sicker.

So they just have to tolerate me over the phone until I feel better and can use my Southwest credits to harass them in person!