Sunday, January 16, 2011

Ode to a Jets Fan (my wife)

I've been to a variety of sporting events in a large number of places around the world.  I sat in awe in Wembley during the five nations (it was still the Five Nations as Italy hadn't grown enough yet to join), two hours before kickoff, listening to the songs being sung by 10's of thousands.  I've been to cricket matches, NFL games, hockey, baseball, etc.  But I'm not sure if I can say I've ever found a more superstitious fan than a Jets fan.

Tonight, the Jets played the Patriots (New York/New England (Boston) for those over seas) in American football (the NFL or 'Gridiron' in Oz).   The Patriots have been a stellar team this year, spanking the Jets on the last outing.  And the Jets have this amazing history (sans the last 2 years) of being a woulda, shoulda, coulda team, offering moments of brilliance followed by eons of agony.  But this year (potentially two years) the tide has changed - but that doesn't change the fan!

My sister-in-law has a history of getting Christmas presents of a Jets jersey.  The year she gets the jersey from her favorite player he either becomes injured or is traded away the next season. We have friends that have to watch the game from certain locations (not just the home in which the watch, not the TV upon which they view the spectacle, but down to the chair in the house where they MUST sit to view the game.)  My wife believes she must be in the kitchen cooking in order for the Jets to win.  Which means the rest of us get to watch the game as well as be fed, but she cannot view the TV more than the time it takes to bring the food to the table or the buffet.

On my last post I mentioned the cold that comes around goes around.  Well, my wife got hit with this nasty bugger this week and has been miserable.  An ugly chest cold where on Thursday she just didn't sleep (nor did I get much either).  Friday I went out and got her some cough medicine but it didn't much help.  And she was too sick to teach church school today.  That being said, IF SHE'S NOT COOKING, THE JETS WON'T WIN!  So she invited a few families, including kids, over for the game and she cooked.  And cooked, and cooked, and then cleaned.   She watched the final 1:24 seconds (when the game was essentially won) but was missing the rest of the entire match.  All this while barely being able to speak due to her throat being so raw!  Six bottles of wine, just a few (8) bottles of beer, and a half bottle of grappa (my recommendation upon the end of the game) later my wife had drank nothing but water but served tortellini, salad, faux fried (baked) chicken, and sauteed asparagus.  Along with dessert, etc.  I was responsible for cleaning approximately 7 forks, a serving knife and taking out the recycling (which will hopefully gain the respect of the porters in our building with all our bottles - The McHugh's always throw a good bash!), my wife did the rest!

Although the comment was made that Rex Ryan threw out a thank you to Lillian for hosting the party that helped make the decision, it was quite funny throughout the night.  K was not allowed to NOT drink white wine - the minute she switched to seltzer things started looking bad.  When D got up and started drinking wine he was ordered to get a beer and sit back on the couch.  My wife was recommended to return to the kitchen multiple times.  One of the mothers of British descent (who doesn't much care for NFL and arrived late) was almost asked to go back home.  And one of the kids was made to stand at the end of the TV with his hands up and fingers crossed for much of the game.

But through it all, my wife was the stalwart, cooking, cleaning and making everyone happy behind the scenes.  I wasn't allowed to leave my seat (and luckily my switch to an IPA was met w/ a fumble and turn-over to the Jets or I would have had to drink that nasty French wine I put out!)  The only concern I have was the graphic that came up on the television, after the Jets had won, announcing that the Jets would next play on Sunday, 1830, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, to which one of the fathers replied, "So we'll see you around 1730 next Sunday?"

J-E-T-S -- Jets, Jets, Jets!

Friday, January 14, 2011

What goes around, comes around, again and again!

On the 19th of December I started getting miserably sick thanks to my young daughter and her pretension to sleep in our bed, while sick, and then cough directly into my sleeping face!  I still lover her miserably!  I started a z-pack on 20th Dec when I got a small fever.  On Wed the 22nd I had a fever of about 101.8 and went to see my friends at Mt Sinai.  All was fine but I was given Avelox, that wonder drug that I was given during my stay for the harvest that looked neon green, similar to Prestone anti-freeze.  This time it was in oral form, 10 days, quit after 5 if you're ok, just make sure no less than 5.  So I went the entire 10 days - to be safe.

It's now the 14th of January, and I feel the code coming back full strength.  I'm taking my VitC and doing the listerine and nose rinse to keep things neat and tidy and try to fight this back.  Unfortunately, my wife has been hit hard, similar to me the last time, but I can't blame it on her.  You see, my daughter, who still has the same cough/cold she had 7 days prior to the first time I was sick, snuck into our bed on Tuesday last.  And in the middle of the night, while snuggling close, SHE PROCEEDED TO COUGH DIRECTLY IN MY FACE!  But I still love her miserably!!!

I was in Boston the week prior.  Met with the Docs at Dana Farber.  The good news is that on our next visit they will have all new digs and a much comfier/cozier waiting room.  The bad news is I won't have as much time to write such glowing bloggery as I did that day!  On a serious note, though I haven't gotten the actual numbers back yet, everything looked great.  A few quick notes that may be good reference to others that are in a remission:
* I'm on a 10mg Relivmid maintenance, 21 day son, 7 days off.  I will continue this for the foreseeable future.  The original thought was to potentially ween off the drugs altogether but I don't see that in the near term.
* I've been asked to maintain regular treatments of Zometa (bisphosphonate) at every three months.  There has been a recent study that shows newly diagnosed Myeloma patients have a greater "overall survival" (OS) and "progression free survival" (PS) rate when on a regular routine of zoledronic acid (Zometa).  If you've not been given this advice and were recently diagnosed, take a look at the study and ask your doctor
* Annual skeletal study and PetCT exam.  Now insurance here in the States needs to approve the PetCT but the goal is to look for lytic bone lesions (xray) and anything else that may be forming that wouldn't be caught in in an xray (thus, the PetCT).  That's scheduled, for the first time, at Mt Sinai next Wednesday.  No food/drink four hours prior to the study and then a beautiful barium cocktail just in time to sit in a donut and listen to bizarre noises!  But I'd rather know than not!
* continue my cycles, monthly bloodwork, and regular checkups!

So for now, all is good and I'm pleased to make that statement.  On a different note, one of my colleagues is working on his MBA and needed to do a study on online advertising.  So currently, my blog is being advertised when you do a search for Myeloma and a variety of other keywords.   So if you see my blog listed on one of those "sponsored links" it's all in the name of edumication!  Thanks all for reading and hope to have more fun updates in the very near future!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Hotel Review

We recently went to Disney with the kids. I've always been a big fan of the house of mouse as service is top of the line. Well today I headed up to Boston to see the Docs at DFCI for my six-month check-up. On a prior visit we had stayed at the Westin Copley and the stay was extremely mediocre - I felt like we were staying for a convention.

This visit we stayed at Fifteen Beacon, downtown, near Beacon Hill. Upon arrival they were wonderful. When mentioning I needed to get to DFCI they offered the hotel car. They set us up w free wifi, got us dinner ressies and offered us a double upgrade (for the price of a single.) Fireplace in the room, "boutiquey" and hip decor, the place was a real find and worth the price. I highly recommend if you're looking for a place in Boston that's in the center but a little more relaxed and less "conventioneer" feeling!

But in the same vein, good friends can offer a similar experience. I got a bizarre email from a friend I hadn't spoken to in years yesterday. I responded jokingly that he had been hacked and someone had spammed his address book as he'd never be capable of such a heartfelt message! He immediately called me!

He had been through a rough patch recently with a bunch of back to back medical procedures and had been doped up pretty well. Unfortunately he probably liked that part too much and when he finally had to come down it was a long way down! He dropped into a funk and closed himself off from the world for quite awhile. The recent "spam" was his debutante announcement, entering back into the real world.

We chatted today and it was just another reminder of how friends are friends, no matter how distant. You may not speak for years but when you do, it's as if you had spoken only yesterday. Don't ever forget this fact - it's an irrefutable fact of life. It's also one of those things that can get you through those tough times.

I've been very lucky during my ordeal in that I've avoided the black hole of depression and "why me" that could have embraced me. I can't say exactly why except that I have family that loves and supports me (and puts up with me) as well as friends that all have a glass half full (with another pint in waiting.)

I have had my trials and tribulations in the blogosphere. When first starting this blog I was trying to find a picture of the catheter that would be used in the harvesting procedure. I found a perfect shot and prior to publishing I wanted to get permission from the blogs owner. Not being able to find an email for the author, I went to the most recent update. Only to find out the author had died three months prior. That was my first view into that black hole and I shut it down immediately! For that reason, I didn't pay attention to other blogs (my mistake) as the thought of getting to "know" someone that may not be there in the immediate future opened up that door to the void again.

Well f_ck that! Friends are friends, whether they're personal or blog-linked, and I need to remember that and ask that everyone else do the same. Life's too short to not enjoy friends, family and a good hotel!

Now go shoot an email to a friend or family member you haven't spoken to in awhile. You'll feel better having made the effort and if you're scared to do so...comment here and I'll send them a message!


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