This is also a great time to introduce my friend Rose. Rose and I have known each other since our early twenties, which is to say a hell of a long time. We met through our mutual friend Susie. We’re all still friends, even though we live in different areas: Rose in the east Bay Area, Susie among the redwoods in Humboldt County, and me out here in the desert. We try to see each other at least once a year, and Rose and I travel quite a bit together.
Rose is wicked smart. And hilarious. And a great person to travel with because she hates mornings as much as I do. She’s also a kick-ass oncology nurse, and as such, she frequently works with patients who have iron deficiencies. I hope she comments on all I get wrong here, but as I understand it, these iron deficiencies often require infusions to bring patients’ red blood cell count and hemoglobin levels back closer to normal. Rose told me immediately that with my iron that low, I would need an iron infusion. She said trying to improve it through supplements and iron-fortified foods alone just wasn’t going to cut it. It would only take my providers about eight more months to agree with her. [That’s foreshadowing, yo.]
Low, Low, Low 