LIVING WITH MCL

Sorry for being so political lately, but I actually believed Republicans would do the right thing today, and vote in favor of much needed legislation, providing liquidity to the US financial system, and helping home owners, who got caught up in the American dream of home ownership. But will wonders never cease, the Republicans today (and admittedly some Democrats as well) reaffirmed my belief the Republican philosophy of I've got mine, who cares about anyone else, still reigns true, by helping to defeat the proposed legislation. And to think I almost believed John McCain, when he said he would change the way Congress works, and would reach across the isle to work with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion. But after hearing John McCain's speech today, I now realize his calls for reaching across the isle, were simply to make it easier for him to stick a knife in the back of Democrats, when they weren't watching. Hopefully the American public will wake up in the next 36 days, and...

As if the economy isn't in trouble enough, now my bank, Washington Mutual (WAMU), has failed. Ok, it actually didn't fail, but it might as well have. Being bought out by JP Morgan for chump change ($1.9 billion), isn't much consolation. I've been with them over 20 years, ever since they were Great Western Savings. I even owned some of their stock (purchased recently at depressed levels). Yes I knew there were problems at WAMU, but chose to put them out of my mind. After all, that's my bank! The wife of one of my cycling buddies is even high up somewhere in the organization, so I thought the risk was low. I thought they were "too big to fail". So much for my judgement. But the little bit of money I've lost, pales in comparison to what comes next. What's to become of my branch office located only about a half mile from my house? And more importantly, what will happen to all the people in the bank I have become accustomed to seeing and talking to duri...

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.

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...

Here it is 1:30 AM Tuesday morning, and for the second night in a row, I can't sleep. There are just so many things going on in my mind, the stock market crashing, and likely to go down significantly more, the Democrats and Obama are about to squander another opportunity to elect a president, and set this country on a different track, and then of course Edie's upcoming transplant . It's like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders, and there's nothing I can do about it. In the midst of all the chaos going on in the US right now, a financial system on the verge of collapse, unemployment in excess of 6%, inflation (despite what government statistics might indicate) running rampant, it seems the American public is inclined to elect a third straight Republican, who wants to continue the economic policies of the past 8 years, and actually believes the US economy is still strong. Talk about elitism, and being out of touch with middle America. We're about to elect a...

Got to the hospital around 6:30 AM, and Edie was taken upstairs to the surgery area shortly there after. I sat patiently in the waiting area for about an hour, when someone called me in. WOW! This was great I thought. The procedure must be over already. I soon learned that was not to be the case. They hadn't even started yet, and she wasn't schedule for the insertion of the Hickman Line for another hour at 8:30 AM (2 hours after arriving at the hospital). Oh well, what can you do? I should have expected it anyways. At least it gave time for the surgeon and anesthesiologist to come in, and explain the procedure to Edie and me. According to the doctors, the procedure would take about 15 minutes, followed by 45 minutes to an hour in the recovery room, and another 30 minutes or so in the post recovery area. Well, as I soon discovered, I either misunderstood the doctors, or they were describing a best case scenario, and this did not turn out to be a best case. It seems Edie had a re...

Edie made it through her Cytoxan infusion today with little or no problem. It was a long day though, starting at 8 AM and ending a little after 4. So now it's on to the insertion of the Hickman Line. For that we have to be at the City of Hope at 6:30 AM tomorrow, and I have to take her. Since she needs to be sedated for the insertion, they won't let her drive herself home after wards. The insertion should only take about 15 minute, so with a couple of hours in recovery, we should be home by noon. I just hope they have Wi-Fi access in the hospital, so at least I'll be able to occupy myself while I'm waiting.

Tomorrow morning, 8 AM, Edie goes for her Cytoxan infusion. She only has one infusion of Cytoxan, but it's a doozy, lasting 6 hours. And the side effects , you should see the drugs she has to take to mitigate just some of them. Then Friday she goes for the insertion of the Hickman Line , after which she starts her Neupogen injections, which she has to give to herself, and then in less than a month the transplant begins. Jeez, a 6 hour infusion with the possibility of some unpleasant side effects, and then injections you have to administer yourself. I don't know what I'm going to do when my time comes. I'm not even sure I'll make it through the next two days, and I'm not the one being treated. I'll tell you, I am not a happy camper. There are just way too many things going on in my life right now, that I have absolutely no control over.

Only one test left, a bone marrow biopsy, plus the consultation for the insertion of the Hickman Line , both scheduled for tomorrow, and Edie will be on her way towards the completion of an autologous stem cell transplant, tentatively scheduled to begin October 10th. We've even received a schedule from the transplant coordinator at the City of Hope , and barring any surprises, Edie should be back home the beginning of November, as good as new. September 5 - Bone Marrow Biopsy and consult for the insertion of the Hickman Line September 11 - Chemotherapy (Cytoxan) begins September 12 - Insertion of Hickman Line, and start of Neupogen injections (used to stimulate the production of stem cells) September 22 - Stem cell collection starts, and continues until enough stem cells have been collected October 10 - Admitted to the City of Hope to begin transplant process November 1 - Return home [BIG SIGH] This is surely going to be the longest two months of my life.

I don't know what it is with me and vacations any more. This was supposed to be a last fling before Edie begins, in earnest, the preparation for her stem cell transplant. We would stay at the Wynn , see a couple of shows and have a few good meals. Unfortunately this vacation did not live up to expectations. Not even the Wynn, which I still consider the nicest hotel on the strip, and the only place I would stay in Vegas, fully lived up to expectations. Maybe it was the holiday weekend, but the service at the pool on Saturday, and the service at the Terrace Pointe Cafe, where we had lunch that same day, was less than stellar. It's like we were invisible to the people who were serving us. Certainly not what I would have expected from past experience at the Wynn. But even beyond that, Vegas has become just another tourist trap. Everything is WAY over priced and too congested. It was like we were navigating an obstacle course, dodging people as we walked down the street or in the c...