A bunch of stuff has been happening lately that is confounding until I find examples in my life which bring things into focus and help me understand, at least a little.
A lot of it is COVID-based. Because COVID is still a novel virus and we don't have a lot of data on the long-term effects of getting it once or multiple times we continue to get shots, wear masks based on risk assessments based on how crowded a location is and how good the ventilation is and generally take care. This doesn't seem like a big deal - it's very transmissible, I hate to be sick if I could avoid it and if I got others got sick...I would feel horrible.
MIL has COVID - she was sick enough to be bedridden for a couple days but didn't bother to let anyone know. FIL can't drive and doesn't cook so I'm not sure what they actually ate for the couple of days. SIL went to look after MIL. SIL is staying with a friend and not wearing a mask or isolating. SIL has recovered from a mild case of COVID already. All of them take a daily assortment of pills.
A friend had COVID and was bedridden for 5 days while the spouse had barely any symptoms. She also has health problems. She doesn't know if it would have been worse had she not been vaccinated and has no intention of getting any more shots because she doesn't like how she feels after.
Our neighbour. He's well over 80 and his mom is nearing 100. He's getting his flu shot but not the COVID one because he's heard the flu is what's going around right now🤦♀️ I don't know where he got that info but not from any provincial site (sparse as it is).
One thing that has been shown with SARS-COV-2 is it's much more contagious than the flu, people can be asymptomatic and contagious and there can be some very bad outcomes. Other than the vascular damage there's an increased risk of
Parkinson's Disease.
BUT then...
I have low neutrophils. I have them intermittently and the last time there were noticeable was when I was in my 40s. We did some extra tests but it seemed to be my normal so I left it at that. Fast forward 20 years and my new doctor is concerned my neutrophils seem to have been low for a couple years - I suspect the last time I was a low normal it was close to a vaccination date. He wants to refer me to a Hematologist but it's my decision. I say no, I've had this before and it's resolved itself. I mentioned the neutropenia to the eye specialist and he did a very circumspect side-eye when I said I wasn't planning to be referred. Then he said he'd be writing my GP advising him to suggest a little harder that I take the referral. I've already called my doctor for a phone appointment.
So what was I thinking? Referrals aren't offered for nothing. Part of it was the softness of the offer - it's my decision. Part of it was I feel fine - much like the people who've had COVID and got better. Part of it is fear that it will turn into something - much like people who don't go to the hospital when they're really sick.
I've put myself into the referral queue and we'll see what happens. If nothing else, I'll find out that I just don't make a lot of spare neutrophils.
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