Just Grand

The kids have been over this weekend and I’ve enjoyed the family time. I have three grandkids with two more on the way. (Alan and Julie are in the process of adopting two children from Ethiopia.) The youngest, Zack, stayed with us overnight while Nate and Jenn celebrated her birthday. I can’t hold him [...]

Clothes Make The Man

I need a name to go along with my new superhero outfit. I have to wear this body armor for the next few months until my bones heal. It’s BB-proof, water resistant and improves the figure.
I also need ideas as to what super powers I should work on. Already I have mastered good posture, going [...]

Tough Break

On my way to the doctor’s yesterday a car pulled in front of me and introduced me to my air bag. I made the rest of the trip in an ambulance with the other driver, who is okay.
Turns out I have a broken back (compressed fractures of vertebrae T2 and L5) and a fractured sternum; [...]

Then and Now

A few people who are facing bone marrow transplants have written or called to ask about the Central Venous Catheter, a.k.a. Hichman Line. I had the tri-luminal variety installed in March and removed in July with no problems.
The Hickman is a small but formidable piece of hardware to be dangling from one’s chest but it [...]

Spandrels

This blog is a spandrel, which unless you’re an architect or a cathedral buff, means nothing to you.
Until now.
A spandrel is “the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure.” It is created incidentally by the juxtaposition of more important components.

I’m using the term metaphorically to refer to the [...]

Why Oncology?

Oncology comes from the Greek word onkos meaning “tumor” and the suffix logy meaning “to poke at.” Oncology involves the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and covers everything from statistical research to palliative care.
I got interested in oncology for selfish reasons—to stay alive—but why do the people on the other end of the stethoscope choose [...]

Progress Report

I’m two months post stem cell transplant and doing well, especially compared to others whose stories I’ve read. I’ve much to be thankful for:

I’m sleeping without the aid of pills for the first time in a year.
My hair is growing! It looks and feels like dryer lint.
I’m exercising and running again. True, I’m slower than [...]

Donating Stem Cells

I want to expand on my last post about donating bone marrow / stem cells to save the lives of people like me with cancer and other serious diseases.
What’s the Difference?
Stem cells are made in the bone marrow and mature into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. When they go rogue and [...]