Scared the bejeezus out of me!

 Edie, Life, Off Topic  1 Response »
Oct 132008
 

Last night as I was surfing the internet, I was startled when I heard Sylvia holler MOLLY.

Molly was my my mothers name, and she died some 10 years ago.

Sylvia then came running (ok, that is an exaggeration) into the office, and asked what was that bell? Did I hear a bell ringing?

Well there wasn’t any bell. Obviously, Sylvia had awoken from a dream, a nightmare, or whatever during one of the numerous naps she takes throughout the day. She soon realized there was nothing wrong, but I’m not so sure she knew she even hollered my mothers name, and I didn’t feel it necessary to ask.

Still it sent chills up my spine.

Oh, and BTW, in case you haven’t received an email from Edie, she is doing fine.

Edie received her stem cells around 11 AM today, with little, if any fanfare. She was somewhat drowsy afterward, but only because of the Benadryl they gave her to prevent any allergic reactions. It was also good that City of Hope offers room service to all their transplant patients, so it was easy getting lunch when she awoke.

It’s almost like being in a hotel. Emphasis on “almost”.

 Posted by at 6:54 pm

The reality of it all

 Edie, Treatments  1 Response »
Oct 122008
 

Edie's hook upsWell, here it is one day before “Day 0″ (the transplant), and the reality of all this is finally settling in. I know I’ve been preparing for this day for several months, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with the next two weeks, making dinner for Sylvia and myself every night, the thought of not being able to share a good bottle of wine with Edie, and sleeping in that great big bed alone.

Oh well, at least the City of Hope makes it very comfortable for the transplant patients.  The rooms are nice size and private, and even have a DSL connection for accessing the internet.

But no one will ever mistake this ordeal for a vacation, as evidenced by the numerous drugs and monitoring devices attached to Edie (not sure what the flashlight is for though), and the ordeal visitors have to go through.

Before entering the room, everyone (doctors, nursers, technicians, and the catering staff included) has to wash their hands, and put on latex gloves, and this very uncomfortable face mask. And so you don’t forget, there’s a sink, gloves and face masks at the entrance to each and every room.

I know there’s good reason for all the precautions, which should become more evident in the next couple of days, as the Melphalan does its dirty work, and after the transplant, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

So if you were planning on a visit, I would recommend against it. While I’m sure Edie would appreciate seeing everyone, she would probably feel worse knowing how uncomfortable you’d be.

Calling, emailing or instant messaging are much better options.

 Posted by at 7:15 am

The last supper

 Edie, Food & Wine, Treatments  2 Responses »
Oct 092008
 

Well there’s no turning back now. The City of Hope called, and Edie is scheduled for an 11:30 AM check in tomorrow. So tonight was time for a special dinner.

We stayed home, and I cooked the perfect medium rare filet mignon, with rice and broccoli, accompanied by a 2005 Hartford Court, Sevens Bench Pinot Noir, and boy was it good.

Not only did I cook the steak to a perfect medium rare, but the wine was one of the better Pinot Noir’s we’ve drank recently. It was a full bodied Pinot, exhibiting a good balance of fruit, tannins and acidity, and with good texture without the high alcohol taste that seems so prevelant in the wines being produced now a days.

Of course, not even the perfect meal, and bottle of wine, can change the reality of the next two or possibley three weeks. They’re not going to be a lot of fun.

Saturday and Sunday, Edie receives high dose melphalan (reduced slightly due to a slightly impaired kidney function), to destroy the old immune system, followed by the transplant on Monday.

Then comes the hard part, waiting for the new immune system to take effect.

I know I’ve been preparing myself for this moment for quite awhile, but that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when you know there isn’t anything you can do effect the outcome.

 Posted by at 9:51 pm

4 days and counting

 Edie, Life  3 Responses »
Oct 072008
 

Not even a seemingly endless stock market decline, nor the Angel’s loss in Boston last night, can take my mind off the fact Edie is going in to the hospital for her scheduled stem cell transplant on Friday.

Fortunately my livelihood doesn’t depend on the fate of the Angels, and I’ve been able to keep losses in our financial portfolio to a minimum (only down 1.5% for the year), so those two events don’t concern me much.

I only wish I could say the same for Edie, and have as much control over the events to follow, as well as I have been able to control our current financial situation, and weather the economic storm I believe is soon to follow (especially should John McCain be elected the next president of the US).

Next step, TRANSPLANT

 Edie, Treatments  2 Responses »
Sep 232008
 

Edie has completed the stem cell gathering process in only 2 days. Actually, there were enough stem cells collected the first day, but that wasn’t known until after she arrived this morning for her second day of collection, so they decided to gather a few more stem cells for good measure (enough for a second transplant if necessary).

There’s no stopping the process now, so for the next 2+ weeks things can get back to some semblence of normalcy, as we wait for October 10th, when Edie will be admitted to the City of Hope, to begin the transplant.

We even managed to have a couple glasses of wine with dinner tonight.

 Posted by at 9:34 pm

No more wine

 Edie, Food & Wine, Treatments  1 Response »
Sep 202008
 

Tuesday, I was worried about the election and the economy. Well now that the government has come out with a bail out plan to save Wall Street the economy, that’s one less thing to be concerned about.

Now my biggest concern is Edie’s upcoming transplant. I had mostly put that out of mind the last couple of days, but I was reminded of it last night, when Edie indicated she can’t have any more wine, at least until after enough stem cells have been collected. That process begins Monday 9/22, and could take anywhere from one day, to several, or even more days.

As if the ritual Edie goes through every night of cleaning her Hickman Line, loading up a syringe with 900 CC’s of Neupogen, and then injecting herself with it, wasn’t enough, now we have to fore go our nightly glass of wine with dinner.

I know I’d sure be having lots of problems if I were on the other end of that needle. I’m having enough trouble just watching Edie go through it herself.

Heck, it almost makes you hanker for the good old days, when the world financial systems were on the verge of collapse.

 Posted by at 5:56 am
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