Wheat & Chaff
Harvesting in Minnesota - just in time for the Minnesota State Fair!
We had a bunch of news today. All of the health related news was good, and all of the other type of news not so good. But not so bad, just not great.
But news - good, bad or indifferent - can be overwhelming when it all comes at once! The hard part is separating the good from the bad - the wheat from the chaff. Good thing we have a separator.
FIRST THE GOOD
Gerry had his third day of cell harvesting today, and it's been a bumper crop!
So far they're obtaining a lot of cells from his collection - almost 9 million in 3 days (1.3M on day 1, 3.1M on day 2 & 4.4M on day 3!)
We're hopeful that Gerry'll have a relatively short time remaining with those awful long needles up his veins. If he does this well tomorrow (knock wood) then we'll have our full collection. Then we can dance the dance of the stem cell harvest!
My husband, some hotshot.
After all of this blood separating, though, he's absolutely WIPED OUT during and after this procedure, but he's looking better today than he has all week!
After the collections, Gerry slept most of Mon & Tues. Today he stayed awake, reading the paper and puttering around. I'm afraid that if he doesn't rest he'll not have the output he'd like tomorrow. I feel like a Jewish mama. Sleep, sleep!
Note: Gerry will have a central line for the chemo & infusion, but they prefer to harvest though an arm vein if possible due to less complication s from a central line. Gerry has "good veins" so this means that each day of harvest starts with some painful poking, but a complication would be more painful!
Second Note to Jan: Yes, Gerry's using his own stem cells, they're the best match for him. They'll treat them to get rid of as many plasma cells (the bad cancer cells) as they can. The chemo should take care of most of the plasma cells in his body. Then his cleaned stem cells will be infused back into his veins where they will go into his bone marrow and - hopefully - start making new stem cell babies. The second best match would be with his brother or sister, which is not as good of a match as his own cells.
KNIT SOCIETY
I went out for coffee and knitting with friends tonight - what a wonderful group! I really feel at home with these women, they're so kind and so much fun! The nice woman who sent me an email was there this evening, and when she introduced herself I know I looked at her like she had two heads (it took a while for me to put 2 + 2 together!)
On the way I picked up a friend I met, a lovely woman and knitter named Cathy who is here with her husband - also undergoing a BMT for MM. It was fun to introduce her to my new knitting & coffee friends at Dunn Bros, I love seeing nice folks network and meet each other.
And, like me, I know she could use a break from hospitals and cancer related talk.
We chatted about how much we love our husbands but how frustrated we can get. I showed her the cliff I threaten to toss Gerry off of every now and then. The things that wives of cancer patients can only share with each other... Don't tell anyone, okay?
And now, the Bad (ish) news;
JOLT
The Electric Inspector looked at our house this week and approved of the work we've had done so far. But there's a problem with previous work done on the house, before we moved in. Apparently a new electrical breaker box was added (this was a selling point for the house) but no permit was ever pulled, and it's sitting too close to a water source in the basement. Two no-no's which may mean fines - we have to see what the official letter from St. Paul says.
One fix is to move the breaker box - but that would be expensive.
Another fix is to put a wall between the existing box and the water source. This actually wouldn't be all bad as we could configure it so that it gives us a closet-ish type area where we can store fans and A/C units, seasonal stuff. But, once again, we have to pay for this.
It's a bother - and it will cost.
Apparently there's a letter on it's way to us - may already be at our house - from the city of St. Paul telling us we have 30 days to resolve the situation. Our real estate agent emailed us the portion of the sellers disclosure where the previous owners claimed that the work was done by a licensed contractor, in which case a permit should have been pulled.
So either
ONLY THE EARTH BELOW US
The floor that we ordered will be a few days late coming in. Not a huge deal. So instead of having the floor before Labor Day, we'll have it after. Eh.
I wish it weren't so, but sometimes things show up later than we'd hope.
I don't think it will be a big headache for my sister in law when she's up there with the kids - I hope not - they should be able to get the small area of floor down in one day (so says our contractor - who I trust!)
RHYMES WITH "NICE"
Apparently during one of Hannah's sleepover sessions with her friends back in NJ a whole bunch of little 'friends' decided to nest in her hair. Well, hers and everyone else's. If you don't have kids, you may be grossed out by this.
But if you do have kids you'll realize that it's become more common (at least more so than when I was a kid) to find outbreaks of lice every now and then. Ick.
So Hannah is staying with the kindest family in the world - folks who weren't even involved in any of this outbreak stuff - and they've agree to let her stay with them for another week so that she doesn't have to fly with this contagion or share it with her cousins up in Boston. My friend, Alison, is the absolute best person in the world. Ever.
Hannah's sad not to be seeing her cousin, but thrilled to be able to spend more time with J, one of her best friends.
It took me a LONG time on the phone with Continental to get all of this straightened out - basically she'll be skipping the NJ - Boston and Boston - NJ portion of her trip. So after (literally) an hour with two different folks, it's all squared away.
AND THEN
As soon as I hung up the hotel phone, our cell phone rang and - guess what? Yep, Maxie has the "L" word, too.
My gut feeling - shave his head.
Eh, maybe not. So now we have two kids far away from us who require heavy duty care above and beyond what any normal person should have to do. Maybe shaving his head ISN'T such a bad idea. He does need a haircut...
I'm spinning out of control and rambling - time to end this post. Too much news and too much re-working, re-organizing, re-scheduling for one day. I bought myself a bottle of Bailey's last night and tonight I'll have a glass. Headache? What headache?
PLUM
Here's a link to some pictures I took at the Plummer bldg yesterday - an amazingly beautiful place.
What a nice respite from the other stuff. Architecture is truly one of the most uplifting of the arts, it can touch my soul in places that nothing else can reach.
Gerry and I really want to get to Plummer House in the next few days, before he starts his chemo and may have a harder time getting around.
We had a bunch of news today. All of the health related news was good, and all of the other type of news not so good. But not so bad, just not great.
But news - good, bad or indifferent - can be overwhelming when it all comes at once! The hard part is separating the good from the bad - the wheat from the chaff. Good thing we have a separator.
FIRST THE GOOD
Gerry had his third day of cell harvesting today, and it's been a bumper crop!So far they're obtaining a lot of cells from his collection - almost 9 million in 3 days (1.3M on day 1, 3.1M on day 2 & 4.4M on day 3!)
We're hopeful that Gerry'll have a relatively short time remaining with those awful long needles up his veins. If he does this well tomorrow (knock wood) then we'll have our full collection. Then we can dance the dance of the stem cell harvest!
My husband, some hotshot.
After all of this blood separating, though, he's absolutely WIPED OUT during and after this procedure, but he's looking better today than he has all week!
After the collections, Gerry slept most of Mon & Tues. Today he stayed awake, reading the paper and puttering around. I'm afraid that if he doesn't rest he'll not have the output he'd like tomorrow. I feel like a Jewish mama. Sleep, sleep!
Note: Gerry will have a central line for the chemo & infusion, but they prefer to harvest though an arm vein if possible due to less complication s from a central line. Gerry has "good veins" so this means that each day of harvest starts with some painful poking, but a complication would be more painful!
Second Note to Jan: Yes, Gerry's using his own stem cells, they're the best match for him. They'll treat them to get rid of as many plasma cells (the bad cancer cells) as they can. The chemo should take care of most of the plasma cells in his body. Then his cleaned stem cells will be infused back into his veins where they will go into his bone marrow and - hopefully - start making new stem cell babies. The second best match would be with his brother or sister, which is not as good of a match as his own cells.
KNIT SOCIETY
I went out for coffee and knitting with friends tonight - what a wonderful group! I really feel at home with these women, they're so kind and so much fun! The nice woman who sent me an email was there this evening, and when she introduced herself I know I looked at her like she had two heads (it took a while for me to put 2 + 2 together!)
On the way I picked up a friend I met, a lovely woman and knitter named Cathy who is here with her husband - also undergoing a BMT for MM. It was fun to introduce her to my new knitting & coffee friends at Dunn Bros, I love seeing nice folks network and meet each other.
And, like me, I know she could use a break from hospitals and cancer related talk.
Gerry and I went to dinner the other night and the waitress told us it was Happy Hour. When she walked away Gerry said, sotto voce and in mock indignation, "Happy Hour? I'm not happy. I have cancer. When are they going to have CANCER hour?"
We chatted about how much we love our husbands but how frustrated we can get. I showed her the cliff I threaten to toss Gerry off of every now and then. The things that wives of cancer patients can only share with each other... Don't tell anyone, okay?
And now, the Bad (ish) news;
JOLT
The Electric Inspector looked at our house this week and approved of the work we've had done so far. But there's a problem with previous work done on the house, before we moved in. Apparently a new electrical breaker box was added (this was a selling point for the house) but no permit was ever pulled, and it's sitting too close to a water source in the basement. Two no-no's which may mean fines - we have to see what the official letter from St. Paul says.
One fix is to move the breaker box - but that would be expensive.
Another fix is to put a wall between the existing box and the water source. This actually wouldn't be all bad as we could configure it so that it gives us a closet-ish type area where we can store fans and A/C units, seasonal stuff. But, once again, we have to pay for this.
It's a bother - and it will cost.
Apparently there's a letter on it's way to us - may already be at our house - from the city of St. Paul telling us we have 30 days to resolve the situation. Our real estate agent emailed us the portion of the sellers disclosure where the previous owners claimed that the work was done by a licensed contractor, in which case a permit should have been pulled.
So either
- The permit was pulled but went missing (lost, not in the system),
- The contractor didn't pull a permit and thus is at fault or
- The previous owners didn't use a contractor.
ONLY THE EARTH BELOW US
The floor that we ordered will be a few days late coming in. Not a huge deal. So instead of having the floor before Labor Day, we'll have it after. Eh.
I wish it weren't so, but sometimes things show up later than we'd hope.
I don't think it will be a big headache for my sister in law when she's up there with the kids - I hope not - they should be able to get the small area of floor down in one day (so says our contractor - who I trust!)
RHYMES WITH "NICE"
Apparently during one of Hannah's sleepover sessions with her friends back in NJ a whole bunch of little 'friends' decided to nest in her hair. Well, hers and everyone else's. If you don't have kids, you may be grossed out by this.But if you do have kids you'll realize that it's become more common (at least more so than when I was a kid) to find outbreaks of lice every now and then. Ick.
So Hannah is staying with the kindest family in the world - folks who weren't even involved in any of this outbreak stuff - and they've agree to let her stay with them for another week so that she doesn't have to fly with this contagion or share it with her cousins up in Boston. My friend, Alison, is the absolute best person in the world. Ever.
Hannah's sad not to be seeing her cousin, but thrilled to be able to spend more time with J, one of her best friends.
It took me a LONG time on the phone with Continental to get all of this straightened out - basically she'll be skipping the NJ - Boston and Boston - NJ portion of her trip. So after (literally) an hour with two different folks, it's all squared away.
AND THEN
As soon as I hung up the hotel phone, our cell phone rang and - guess what? Yep, Maxie has the "L" word, too.
My gut feeling - shave his head.
Eh, maybe not. So now we have two kids far away from us who require heavy duty care above and beyond what any normal person should have to do. Maybe shaving his head ISN'T such a bad idea. He does need a haircut...
I'm spinning out of control and rambling - time to end this post. Too much news and too much re-working, re-organizing, re-scheduling for one day. I bought myself a bottle of Bailey's last night and tonight I'll have a glass. Headache? What headache?
PLUM
Here's a link to some pictures I took at the Plummer bldg yesterday - an amazingly beautiful place.
What a nice respite from the other stuff. Architecture is truly one of the most uplifting of the arts, it can touch my soul in places that nothing else can reach.
Gerry and I really want to get to Plummer House in the next few days, before he starts his chemo and may have a harder time getting around.
| www.flickr.com |
28 Comments:
I'm so glad that the harvesting is going well! You and Gerry have been in my thoughts quite a bit lately. I actually work in heme/onc/BMT at the U of MN, but in a strictly administrative role (I coordinate grants for the faculty so they can continue their research). I just wanted to let you know how meaningful it has been to read about these experiences - I spend most of my time steeped in medical jargon and paperwork, but reading your blog has really helped me feel the connection between the work we do in the admin offices and what that ultimately means for patients. It's such a personal thing for you to be sharing, and so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
P.S. Love love love LOVE the corset tank. Did I say love? I mean love. Or, perhaps, luuuuuurve.
I'm also glad that Gerry's harvesting has gone so well! Yay!!! That's a shame about the "L", but it does happen to even the nicest people!
Those photos of the Plummer Bldg. are absolutely gorgeous.
Enjoy your Baileys and I hope your headache is gone in the morning.
You have been so much in my thoughts that I had a dream with you in it the other night - can't remember the dream - but I remembered you. This is usually my mind reminding me to pray!
Don't worry about the lice - my kids had it when they were young & it reaccured 3x's before we were done. Shaving your son's head is a good idea & will save him a lot of grief. Make sure you follow all of the steps or else get a prescription shampoo for Hannah. You do survive this, it's just so frustrating when you're going through it. This is little stuff compared to the rest - always an adventure!
Take good care!
Laura
These days, lots of guys are shaving their heads--Max'd look cool with a total buzz cut. Hannah, on the other hand, may resist that a bit. I wish them well with L-Camp. :)
You missed Lori at Dunn Brothers (the one with the jester hat). She commented that she wondered if we were long lost sisters--we have a similar sense of humor. How scary is THAT?
Judy
(checking for flies)
you know the odd thing about the l word is that those little "friends" can only live on really clean hair
my mom was a hair dresser when i was growing up and i remember learning that little fact as a kiddo
i say shave the head!!
i am all for shaving the head! and i would even do it with him - you know, as a bonding experience :)
Oh, lice, mice whatever... it's no biggie. Part of being a kid. My youngest had 'em, with his cute little bowl cut hair...that got shaved as I sprayed the house, washed sheets, etc. That was 20 odd years ago. His hair has been through numerous incarnations since then, so again, no biggie.
Sound like Gerry is really "puttin' out"! in a good way...
Thank god for Bailey's.
here's luck and hugs for tomorrow.
Aww, sucks to have head lice. Not that it's exactly the end of the world, but it's a lot of work. At least they have better shampoos than when I was a kid!
Keeping up the mojo for Gerry and the next harvest! Go cells, go!
Annie, I don't know what it is--some sort of cosmic sense of humor--but I know when life is most difficult for me, all sorts of odd little totally crap things happen, like lice (although I missed that with my kids--plenty of other problems you wish no one would mention, however). Go with it, Dearie, and make every bad joke you can about the slings and arrows life deals us. In fact, I've laughed my hardest when my daughter and I have decided once again that it's time for the hemlock, but, oops, we don't have any, so we'll have to make do with gin. Bailey's is probably better, but gin served most of the poor population of England for several hundred years. My thoughts, and laughs, and tears, are with you, and I know how hard it is to deal with airline people, etc. for hours on end. See, I'm rambling, too, because it's been pretty hard here, too, but it sure helps to share. Love,
Kate
So glad that Gerry is doing so well with the harvesting :-)
I hope that everything continues to go well for you both and that the little bumps in the road are just that - bumps
Sending love, hugs and prayers
Karen
Belated happy anniversary! Nowadays, 14 years is an accomplishment, even without all the two of you have had to go through. Blessings to both of you!
Re: the lice, my niece actually had them right after she was diagnosed with her leukemia, while she was still in the hospital (there was a day where all of her friends were visiting and passing a party hat around her hospital room, we think that's where it came from). She was getting chemo and there were a lot of jokes about those little critters not knowing what hit them when they were sucking her blood. We didn't have to deal with shaving--her hair was falling out anyway. But it was, to say the least, disconcerting. This, too, shall pass!
You probably should never take legal advice from a doctor, but it seems to me you should be able to go after the seller to recoup some of the extra cost for the permit violation--and they can go after the contractor.
Congrats on the bumper crop of stem cells. Thinking of Gerry and you daily.
Cathy
maybe "elevator detail" could be cables?
glad to hear harvest is going well. may we continue to hear good things.
so sad about the L issue. i'll never forget when i got it in 2nd grade and i had just started showering on my own. my hair was long and thick and curlish and hated combs. they moved in at the base of my hairline where i have a chunk o'psoriasis (i guess, i should get that checked some day--mum has the same thing) mum thought i hadn't washed shampoo out fully, and with long thirsty hair... we thought we'd have to shave my head but i sat there VERY patiently while she combed through the stuff. it took hours. the next year i cut my hair shoulder length. i think mum was pretty annoyed!
{hugs} to gerry, you, and max & hannah! at least you don't have to wash all their toys and things because they aren't home to infest them?
{hugs}
The Truth in Housing inspection by a city approved inspector (Required in st. Paul) should have found that. You may have some recourse to get the seller to pay at least part of the cost.
Thanks so much for the personalized note! I understand more now.
Praying today especially for a continued good harvest for Gerry!
Had a similar problem in NJ with an undisclosed underground oil tank that was improperly abandoned. Takes time and effort and money (not in great supply for you right now), but you do probably have some legal recourse to get this paid for by the seller.
Great class in Lansing earlier this month. Really enjoyed meeting you and learning. Take care of YOURSELF, too.
Glad to hear the good news about Gerry's bumper crop. Now what kind of harvest festival do you have after THAT?
Sorry to hear about the lice. We are on round two of the little buggers. This time we skipped the chemical treatment and tried to suffocate the little guys with a judicious application of mayonnaise and a shower cap on overnight. We'll hit the 10 day mark tomorrow and so far, so good. The pediatrician also suggestion using Dippity Doo (or any other hair treatment that hardens) to accomplish the same end result. Maybe that would have kept me from craving a BLT every time I hugged my girls.
Congratulations on your wonderful friends. I truly believe the Universe sends us what we need to cope with overwhelming situations. The question is whether or not we are open to the possibilities. It sounds like you've got that down pat.
Stay strong, fiber sister!
Yay for Gerry's Harvest! (kind of like Shepherd's Harvest, only more personal) Boo for head lice!
My husband was a school nurse in Minneapolis for a number of years and so had to deal repeatedly with head lice in his schools. One factoid he passed on to me: the little critters much prefer Caucasian hair to that of African-Americans.
when my youngest was 6, the school held him in the office for THREE hours because they'd found head lice on him (they had my work phone, dammit). however, they didn't find any on his brother (they shared a room at the time). the interesting part? i brought him home, shaved his head (i went with the 1/8th inch guard), then took him back to school the next day. and nobody else got lice. i think it hopped on him at school.
I had lice in high school after a mission trip. Didn't know what it was and even had a haircut in the meantime (how they didn't see it, I don't know) until I saw a full grown one on my towel one day and screamed.
It's a pain, royal pain, to get rid of them but not the worst in the world. The kids'll be fine, and I know I wouldn't mind dealing with it if they were here (though I'd consider shaving a certain boy's head and then my boy's head to be safe). I'm sure your friends and family are cool with it.
I know just how Gerry feels about happy hour. I felt the same way last fall during my whole kidney it-looks-like-cancer tumor thingy. You know what really got to me? All of the breast cancer stuff around. I know that sounds awful, but what about all of the other cancers? Kidney cancer (and they count my tumor in their list) is lime green (ick), and you don't see lime green stuff everywhere. Pink stuff with pink ribbons is everywhere, but what about the rest of us? Sorry for the rant, but it still bothers me. Maybe Gerry'll understand.
I'm glad he's getting a good number. That ups his odd, if I understand it all correctly. Give Gerry a hug from me, and tell Gerry to give you a hug from me. I wish I were closer to help out.
I'm thinking that you should be reimbursed whatever money you spend to correct the electrical problem by your sellers, or their electrical contractor. If he pulled a permit, he should have a record of it, even if the city does not.
Glad to hear that Gerry is proving to be such a stem cell champ. And sorry about the "L" words. They're a real drag.
I'm sure the electrical work WAS done by a licensed contractor who just didn't pull a permit. It doesn't pay to cut corners is what my husband and I say about our remodel business - the one time you don't do it will be the time you wish you did. I'd contact the seller to contact the electrician and have him correct the problem because he knew better! unless it was done by a relative of theirs who IS an electrician but not a fully licensed one and so he might not have been able to pull the permit. Anyway - I'd call the sellers ASAP! Boohoo about the lice too. My hairdresser said (I think) that if you keep gel in your kids hair the lice can't get a grip on it. My son is 17 and I've never had to deal with it - thank God! Thinking of you ALL and wishing you the best.
Okay, First things first--I'm so happy to hear Gerry's harvesting is going well. That's great news! In regards to the electrical situation, you very likely have some type of legal recourse and regardless of the headache should pursue it. Now, onto the lice. I'll admit it, I had them as a girl. It's no biggie. Just use the rinse/shampoo to kill them and of course launder in hot water all the bedding and clothes. The biggest pain will be picking out the nits. This just takes time, patience and the special nit comb. No head shaving required.
Sorry to hear you had some news but glad the news on the cancer-front is good.
Since you have a disclosure signed by the sellers I think you should first try to see how far the relator can get with this: he should try to find out from the sellers who the licensed contractor was and pursue with those people. Otherwise, there is small claims court to get reimbursed for your extra expense. I doubt a permit was applied for because if it was then the work would have been done correctly because it would have been inspected by the electrical inspector. I would recommend taking photos of the electrical work that is already done (by the previous so-called contractor) so you have proof that the previous work wasn't done by your contractor. Keep copies of everything. If you go to small claims court make sure you make a copy of all your documentation that the judge can keep.
There always seems to be extra expenses involved when remodeling an older house. Years ago my husband and I added two bedrooms to a house built in 1966 and would you believe we had to install a septic lift tank and a new drain field? The size of a septic system is gated by how many bedrooms a house has. And since we had to make it bigger we also had to conform to a code about depth (the orginal septic system was now too deep and not at current code - thus the lift tank). It seems as soon as you remodel they make many codes that were put into effect after the house was built retroactive. Argh.
Did you have the house inspected before you purchased? If so I would have thought that inspector would have caught this problem.
Of course pursuing takes time and energy and somethings just might not be worth it right now....Good luck.
We are at the end of a summer-long battle of head lice for my son. We didn't shave his head, but did clip it very short. Tea Tree Oil shampoo and those little lice combs really helped, and at least twice a day lice checks. The chemical stuff didn't do anything for us. Good luck!
Annie,
I am so happy to see that the harvest is going well. We are out of touch with vacationing in Washington, but I am so glad I can log on to someone else's computer and get the news. I hope it continues to go well.
peace.
Another note on the "l" word. My daughter was in kindergarten and my son was newborn, so I didn't want to use heavy chemicals. A friend recommended plain old vegetable oil adn it worked great! the oil suffocates the little suckers. Leave it on for thirty minutes, Comb it through with a lice comb to get the nits. Follow with a wash of grease-cutting dishwashing liquid (like Dawn). Hair will be soft for days from this oil treatment. Vacuum every surface, bag up stuffed toys in plastic, and wash towels and bedding in hot water. Don't forget hairbrushes and combs. (These can be run through the dishwasher, but I'd leave out the dishes on that load.) Best wishes on all the extra stuff you're having to deal with.
I was going to chime in about how fat suffocates them, but Kim beat me to it. I would add, wrap the hair in plastic wrap while that oil is sitting there. It's totally safe for everything but the bugs, and it works--and I say this after once going through 90 lbs of laundry detergent and umpteen anti-lice shampoo bottles trying to clear them out. (Four kids+infested headphones in the French dept of the school.)
The very best to all of you in all your ordeals going on right now.
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