WHAT!? A YELLOW CARD?

    I am attending to last minute details, one of them being getting a physical exam and getting my doctor's confirmation that I am healthy, fit and ready to ride the east coast; a 2600 mile journey on a bicycle. Prior to my doctor examining my blood work, the nurses aide checked my vitals, blood pressure, pulse, and medications. The aide exclaimed, "My! Physically you are 39!" Although I have been pushing it and I have been a bit tired, that sounded good. Bring it on! Then my doctor came in and we discussed cycling for a while and she remembered that after my three months trip to Guatemala, she remembered my family said I could never be gone that long again. She wanted to know how I got a two month 'hall pass' for this trip. "Uh, because they know it is important to me?? I dunno?" 

   Then she started looking at my blood work, and muttering, "Mmmm, well, hmmmm, this does not look good. Maybe you are leaking blood somewhere?"  What is she talking about? So she asked, "Have you been sick recently, or had any infections?" "No", I responded. "Well your white blood cell count has dropped significantly, and your hemoglobin is low. You are anemic." Oh no! I am five weeks away from our east coast ride and I am anemic!? YELLOW CARD! She wondered if my iron or B-12 was low, so she sent me to the lab immediately to test for iron and B-12. She also told me to start taking 325 units of iron a day and 1000 mg of B-12 daily. And she set me up for a test for H Pylori, to see if I had a relapse for the bacteria that knocked me down from my last Guatemala trip. Low white blood cells and low hemoglobin can be caused by bleeding, often intestinal bleeding, so now I am scheduled for a colonoscopy. Low white blood cell count and low hemoglobin can also be caused by other things that you can Google to determine, none of them leave me with a settled feeling.

   The iron, B-12 and H Pylori test results came in and all is normal. On one hand, that is good, but we still have not determined cause. At this time I am playing with a yellow card and I am still in the game. Some have suggested maybe I should rest and determine what is going on. But I think I need to keep pushing, and if I break, and get red carded, I would rather get red carded before we get on the plane for Bar Harbor instead of physically breaking down a few hundred miles down the road.

   So, I am still riding hard, but I am a bit concerned. I will keep you all posted.