A Scare

I signed up for long-term disability insurance through my job. To my amazement, I was turned down. The reason: high red blood cell count. I started to look into it. High RBC means too many red cells without enough oxygen...that it can happen to anyone...that cardiac disfunction, diabetes, cancer, and many other illnesses can cause high RBC or polycythemia.

I was overwhelmed....I thought of the movie, “Love Story,” of 70s. Jenny, after a perfect marriage, discovered she had leukemia (too high white cell count)...and she dies, a young woman with so much life ahead of her. I thought, “What if I was to die now...” Tears flowed....my kids are not yet fully grown. Tom loves me so much...no matter what happens, it would be OK.

I always had delicate health. So maybe this was the reason, but why was this never detected before when I was tested many times before?

I looked at the lab report once again. What? The norm is 0 to 4. How can norm be 0 (zero) red blood cells? Oh, it is under the heading of urinalysis. There is supposed to be no red blood cells in the urine. That changes the whole picture. It could be an infection or tumor. That is different than polycythemia (sluggish blood due to too many red blood cells in the arteries & veins.) I will make an appointment with a doctor. I have had many urinalyses with good results.