Just arrived back at Tiverton House after a long day at the hospital. Ed's surgery went well after the delays of the morning scheduling and he is proudly sporting a perma-cath and all the requisite bandaging for some sympathy points. No showering for a while - he's going to have to get over his "baths are for sissies" deal and get used to a good soak now and again. I will run out later and get him a polka-dot shower cap and some Mr. Bubble for entertainment! Send rubber ducky care packages!
The first round of pheresis went just fine - I took him lunch before they hooked him up and then the nurse explained all the machinery and let me watch inside the holding tank as it spun the blood around to separate the components to draw off the stem cells. It is actually not a particularly new technology - she said they have had some of the machines since 1989, but that what they can do with the blood products is remarkable and advancing all the time. The shuttle service between Tiverton House and UCLA is fabulous - it's only 3 blocks distance, so I actually walked it back at lunch time so I could check out the shops and it was a lovely walk - less than 10 minutes including making mental notes of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Ralphs, BestBuy, Trader Joe's, Burger King and Victoria Secret, which are all part of the route. There is a beautiful church with a tall bell steeple near by and the sound of the bells is wonderful. The ivy covered buildings are gorgeous and the Geffen Playhouse is a block away as well. I really hope Ed will be feeling well enough to spend a little time exploring the area before we go home after he's discharged in July. I will certainly be checking some of it out on my own during morning runs - part of the "take care of me" plan I will have in place so I don't get burned out.
No surprise to many of you who know me that I've been teetering on the brink of overload lately. Working hard to change that right away and plan better. That superhero thinking is so insidious and creeps in before you know it, then BAM! The crash. Thanks to my dear children, best friends and a couple of truly tragic photos, I've realized I need a new game plan and am investing time in setting it up to level the playing field. It will be good for all of us.. ....and quite necessary. Those of you who have offered help may just find your phone ringing, so be ready or delete my number. (I didn't mean to make that sound like a threat...more of a dare I guess.) Of course if you aren't able to do some crazy task I mention, just use the word "eggplant" in a sentence and all bets are off. That's an old secret code my girlfriends and I used to use and it seems like it might work in this situation too. No explanations necessary. I apologize to any of you who may have been scratching your heads after talking to me lately wondering "what happened to HER?" I realize that I have not been my usual self and may have sounded bewildered or distant or non-communicative. Working on staying aware and away from that.
We have another long day at UCLA tomorrow - stem cell collection in the morning and then blood work in the afternoon and then his pre-admit physical with the nurse practioner at 2:30. Then we'll be going back to Thousand Oaks. We'll have to wait until Thursday night to find out if they have collected enough stem cells, if not, we'll have to drive back down Friday morning and keep coming back each day until enough are harvested. Some patients take as long as 12-15 days of harvesting, but the average is 3-5.
If Ed's feeling up to it, we'll probably go out and walk a bit around Westwood tonight and maybe get pizza or something. We won't be walking too far however, since on Sunday I stepped on and got stung by a bee about 5 minutes before guests arrived for my son's graduation party. My left foot (great movie title) is swollen and red and feels numb so I'm taking benadryl and wearing flat loafers until the swelling goes down. Feels like I'm wearing a prostetic food somehow so it's a little tender to walk a long distance. I don't think I've been stung by a bee in 20 years, but of course it has to happen just before a party. I'm surprised I wasn't stung on the end of my nose the way things have been going!
Anyway, thanks for your faithful following of the blog and the calls and messages to Ed. Several of you have told me that you can't post comments anymore - don't know what the heck is up with the inner workings, but feel free to send me an e-mail at liz@lloydsplumbing.net and I'll reply. Love you all and depend on your thoughts and prayers. It matters.
Love,
Liz & Ed
I will certainly be checking some of it out on my own during morning runs - part of the "take care of me" plan I will have in place so I don't get burned out.
ReplyDeleteI’ve bookmarked this because I found it interesting. I would be very interested to hear more news on this. Thanks!
ReplyDelete