Skip to main content

A wake up email

I just received an email from a fellow MCL'er this evening, who is being prepped for a Stem Cell Transplant (SCT). He didn't mention what type of SCT, i.e. autologous, non-myeloablative (mini-allo) or myeloablative (full-allo), but I am guessing he is going for the non-myeloablative, since he is 70 years old. The other two require very high dose chemotherapy, which is difficult for even the youngest and fittest individuals among us to endure.

While I never enjoy hearing about the troubles others are having, I certainly appreciate it when someone writes to me commenting on my blog, and telling me what a "great" attitude I have. (Oh, if only the latter were true more of the time.)

Sometimes it just takes a jolt from some fan (so to speak), or a poster to one of the several lymphoma/leukemia message boards, which I hesitate to visit so frequently anymore, talking about their problems, to make me realize just how lucky I am.

But why does it take an email from someone, in worse condition than me, to make me realize just how good I do have it?
Labels:

Comments

Becky said…
Apprarently we're not hard wired to think along those terms. We don't get up out of bed thinking how great it is to be alive.

This morning I woke pissed because the dog woke me (he was barking at a stranger)on my day off. What nerve!

I went to see Jim yesterday who had two lobes removed from his lung and he is having a hard time breathing. And I left amazed with breathing of all things!

You never miss the water 'til the well runs dry.

Maybe we should all read Walt Whitman.
3:31 AM
Becky said…
I went to see Jim today and he is having surgery again today at four. I guess they put some temporary bars in his that they are going to now remove. I brought him a Christmaz Kazoo so he can practice his breathign techniques.

Don't forget I won't be in until Wednesday.
7:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History IS repeating itself

I didn't grow up during the rise and fall of Hitler and Nazi Germany, so for me to claim it feels like those are the times we are living in now, must be taken with a grain of salt. But I have seen enough movies, and read enough history to know, if the times we're living in now are not akin to the rise of a Nazism and Facism in Europe in the 1930's and 1940's, then we're not far off. If you can't see the parallels with Nazi Germany, then you must be living in a different country than me. Republicans and other right wing extremists will stop at nothing to subvert the will of the majority, forcing their beliefs, that they are the superior race and have been appointed by God, to impose their will on America, while they blame all our problems on immigrants, blacks and Jews. As I speak, Mitch McConnell, and his minions are raising roadblocks to all legislation designed to help average Americans under the guise of fiscal responsibility. They condone violent and verba...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stop the stupidity!

Rural medical center (in Georgia) suspended from vaccination program after inoculating school district staff. Give me a break! Trying to get kids back to school, while protecting teachers, bus drivers and other staff, is exactly what school districts should be doing. If they have vaccines, give them out. We should be giving out vaccines to all who want them, whenever available. Trying to adhere to rigid guidelines will only result in fewer people getting vaccines, resulting in the discarding of precious vaccines, and less protection for everyone. Of course we should be giving first priority to healthcare workers, and any other essential public service employees, such as policeman, fireman, etc. first, but when they're not around to receive shots, or refuse shots, then give them to anyone willing to take them. What I would have objected to is the medical center trying to capitalize on the pandemic to make a profit, from giving vaccines to people far down the list of recipients, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fatigue! Part II - Maybe it is real?

Or it's actually Motivational Deficiency Disorder, MoDeD (pronounced Mo-Dee-Dee) for short. In a report this week by Roy Moynihan who reports for the British Medical Journal Austrailian scientists may have come across the reason for extreme laziness . The condition is claimed to affect up to one in five Australians and is characterised by overwhelming and debilitating apathy. Neuroscientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia say that in severe cases motivational deficiency disorder can be fatal, because the condition reduces the motivation to breathe. Neurologist Leth Argos is part of the team that has identified the disorder, which can be diagnosed using a combination of positron emission tomography and low scores on a motivation rating scale, previously validated in elite athletes. "This disorder is poorly understood," Professor Argos told the BMJ. "It is underdiagnosed and undertreated." Who knew? Maybe I have MoDeD, from my attempts to become a...
Post a Comment
Read more