It was a hotly contested Labtest Contest. The votes poured in from all over the cyberverse... but in the end there could only be one T-Cell Champion... and that man’s name is Justin Starkenburg. His name is added to a list of incredible champions, but now only he sits atop as the world wonders whether he will be able to defend it in 4 months when I’m due for more blood work.  Thus far, no one has held onto the title.

Shawn’s T-Cell Champion: Justin Starkenburg
(guess: 570 actual count: 579)
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Justin edged out first-ever champion, Charles Oliff, by 3 measly t-cells.  Oliff had the exact same guess that I did: 567.  Thus far Oliff’s original winning effort, which fell within two t-cells of the actual count, has yet to be matched.  That fact, however, takes nothing away from Justin’s incredible feat.  Beating the man who is regarded by many as the greatest t-cell champion of all-time is a hint of the great things to come from Starkenburg, and I anxiously await his future guesses.

On a personal note, I love that you guys participate in this.  I’m also happy that my t-cells went up, and that my viral load came in at below 50 copies, which is pretty much nothing at all.  The % went from 30 to 27, which is a little drop. % represents how healthy the t-cells that I have are, and mine’s been between 25% and 30% consistently for the last five years. That’s a good zone to be in.  As with all labs, the little blood cells fluctuate, so keeping track and looking at the big picture is pretty important.  Come November, I’m hoping to crack 600 again.  Have only done it once, and that number came in last fall.

Hope this blog entry finds everyone comfortable in their own skin and t-cells.

Positively Yours,
Shawn