Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I just got the results of the T Detect test for covid T cells, and it's positive, meaning they found T cells.

This comes with disclaimers about them not knowing what it means for immunity, of course.

ETA: I sent this information to my doctor soon after receiving it, and got a very enthusiastic "yay!!!" in response.

I just got an email from the company saying they have approved my request for financial assistance, covering everything except the prescription fee, and including a code to use during the ordering process. I wrote back, asking how to apply this retroactively. The FAQ on their website says that "If you have already purchased the test and your application for Adaptive Assist is approved to provide the test at a reduced cost, a refund will be processed to your credit card." So I probably don't need to do anything, but I wanted to follow up. (Given when I sent that, I don't expect a reply until Monday.) They have emailed to say the refund will be on my credit card in 3-5 business days.

I just got automatic notifications of blood test results. Everything in the hepatic function panel is normal. There's one number slightly outside the reference range in the complete blood count.

In addition to the hepatic function panel and complete blood count tests that I knew my neurologist was ordering, he had them run a covid antibody test. The automated report on that is so full of disclaimers that I am wondering why he bothered ordering it:

The explanation notes explicitly that the clinical significance of either a positive or negative test in people who have received a covid vaccine is unknown.

I told Dr. AbdelRazek that I didn't want to pay for unnecessary tests, and after a little discussion decided that it did make sense to have the CBC now rather than waiting four months. But this covid antibody test feels like a perfect example of an unnecessary test: they don't know what a positive result would mean, they don't know what a negative result means, and I have no relevant symptoms. (The result was negative.)

This afternoon, I went to Logan Airport to take a covid test that is acceptable for travel to Canada. I had to get (and pay for) a quick-response one, because the test must have been taken no more than 72 hours before my flight leaves. I have again tested negative, which surprised me not at all: this wasn't a medical test because I had symptoms, or any reason to believe I'd been exposed to covid.

Having run into serious bus problems on my way to visit adrian_turtle a couple of days ago, I made plans today that had room for T problems, and I needed them. I got to Harvard, walked through the subway turnstiles, and almost immediately heard "this train is returning to Alewife" followed by something about shuttle buses to Park Street. It took a few minutes to find out where the buses would be -- an MBTA employee had to call headquarters, and spend a few minutes on hold.

At that point, old reflexes kicked in--I hurried up the escalators and along the sidewalk, took the shuttle bus, and then hurried down thed stairs first at Park Street and then at Government Center, rather than waiting for the elevator. I just missed a blue line train, but the following train, plus airport shuttle bus, got me to Logan Terminal C with a few minutes to spare.