I want to thank everyone who came by today to register themselves as bone marrow donors. Your kindness is truly appreciated.
I also want to give a special thanks to all of you who came by to volunteer your time to assist with the running of the event. Without people like you it is impossible to to get the job done. As we all know, without volunteers many, many things in this world could not and would not be accomplished. Thanks once again.
I especially want to thank my daughter, Jennifer, who coordinated the effort with Dana-Farber, helped to get the word out to the community about the drive, ordered the custom shirts for the family, and worked diligently to come up with the items to be raffled off. It was a lot of work.
I want to apologize for not personally being there. However, with only 4 days to go until I enter the hospital for the actual transplant, I cannot jeopardize the status of my health and be in possibly risky crowd situations.
As a heads up, the plan is to do a second drive next year during the month of April. For those of you who registered as donors this year, you, obviously, need not do it ever again. For those who could not make it today, another opportunity will present itself.
Once again, thanks to all.....
Bob
February 6, 2009 10:00 PM
BONE MARROW DRIVE TOMORROW(2/7)
HAMPSHIRE HILLS
50 EMERSON ST.
MILFORD, NH
10 AM - 2 PM
MANY WONDERFUL ITEMS TO BE RAFFLED AS WELL!
If you wish to volunteer to help, please arrive by 9:00 to take advantage of the training session.
As they say, when it rains, it pours. In our case almost literally. Had a leak in the basement in the finished ceiling. Turns out some nitwit used plastic tubing for the water line leading to the refrigerator and layed the line on top of a hot water pipe. Guess what? The hot water pipe burns a small hole in the line. Also, the finished ceiling was placed right over the shut off as well. Some people have no brains.
Anyway, that was really the big event of the day as the plumbers came in and tracked down and resolved the problem. When I saw the bill, I knew that I had wasted my whole career in the engineering field. Those guys do very well for themselves!
So that was really it for the day.
Please support the bone marrow drive tomorrow - you'll be glad that you did....
Bob
HAMPSHIRE HILLS
50 EMERSON ST.
MILFORD, NH
10 AM - 2 PM
MANY WONDERFUL ITEMS TO BE RAFFLED AS WELL!
If you wish to volunteer to help, please arrive by 9:00 to take advantage of the training session.
As they say, when it rains, it pours. In our case almost literally. Had a leak in the basement in the finished ceiling. Turns out some nitwit used plastic tubing for the water line leading to the refrigerator and layed the line on top of a hot water pipe. Guess what? The hot water pipe burns a small hole in the line. Also, the finished ceiling was placed right over the shut off as well. Some people have no brains.
Anyway, that was really the big event of the day as the plumbers came in and tracked down and resolved the problem. When I saw the bill, I knew that I had wasted my whole career in the engineering field. Those guys do very well for themselves!
So that was really it for the day.
Please support the bone marrow drive tomorrow - you'll be glad that you did....
Bob
February 5, 2009 10:00 PM
Not much to comment on today. Some friends stopped by in the afternoon and we had a pleasant visit.
About the only thing of consequence(if you can call it that) is that my hair is slowly returning. When I shave, I really do have to shave the next day. But I take advantage of the fact that a lot of it is white(some benefit to being 65) and it's not really visible - so I skip a day or two. The hair on my head is slowly getting darker as well. So I guess we can eliminate the possibility that it will come back red or some other odd color. As for being curly, it's still too early to tell at this point.
That's about the only thing that's going on until next Wednesday when I return to the hospital for the "last" time. I suppose that's a good thing however. We do not want to have any problems that might jeopardize the game plan.
Please do not forget the bone marrow drive on Saturday.....
Bob
About the only thing of consequence(if you can call it that) is that my hair is slowly returning. When I shave, I really do have to shave the next day. But I take advantage of the fact that a lot of it is white(some benefit to being 65) and it's not really visible - so I skip a day or two. The hair on my head is slowly getting darker as well. So I guess we can eliminate the possibility that it will come back red or some other odd color. As for being curly, it's still too early to tell at this point.
That's about the only thing that's going on until next Wednesday when I return to the hospital for the "last" time. I suppose that's a good thing however. We do not want to have any problems that might jeopardize the game plan.
Please do not forget the bone marrow drive on Saturday.....
Bob
February 4, 2009 11:00 PM
Given the fact that there is not too much going on at this time, I'll devote today's entry to a few bookkeeping chores.....
the first is another reminder of the bone marrow drive to be held on Saturday(the 7th) from 10 - 2 at Hampshire Hills in Milford, NH. As I have said many times, all they do is take a simple swab inside of your mouth so the process is most certainly quick and painless. To make the effort of attending possibly a little more rewarding for you, there is to be a raffle of a variety of items from a full size sofa and chair to jewelry to items donated by local vendors. Please take the time to come, if you can, because increasing the list of possible donors is so important to those whose only chance at life is a bone marrow transplant. I'm fortunate, a donor has been located for me. But that is not always the case and many leukemia patients don't make it because a compatible donor can't be found. If you want to get somewhat of a feeling as to what it's like from the donor's perspective, read the comments on this blog from Skoja that have been posted over the past week.
the second is that my daughter has someone at work who has a female friend named Valier Gacioch who has been recently diagnosed with leukemia. I do not know how many prayer lists I am on and this is the only way that I can reach each of you. So, if you could please add her name to the same lists, it would be greatly appreciated. I thank you so much for your kindness.
Bob
the first is another reminder of the bone marrow drive to be held on Saturday(the 7th) from 10 - 2 at Hampshire Hills in Milford, NH. As I have said many times, all they do is take a simple swab inside of your mouth so the process is most certainly quick and painless. To make the effort of attending possibly a little more rewarding for you, there is to be a raffle of a variety of items from a full size sofa and chair to jewelry to items donated by local vendors. Please take the time to come, if you can, because increasing the list of possible donors is so important to those whose only chance at life is a bone marrow transplant. I'm fortunate, a donor has been located for me. But that is not always the case and many leukemia patients don't make it because a compatible donor can't be found. If you want to get somewhat of a feeling as to what it's like from the donor's perspective, read the comments on this blog from Skoja that have been posted over the past week.
the second is that my daughter has someone at work who has a female friend named Valier Gacioch who has been recently diagnosed with leukemia. I do not know how many prayer lists I am on and this is the only way that I can reach each of you. So, if you could please add her name to the same lists, it would be greatly appreciated. I thank you so much for your kindness.
Bob
February 3, 2009 10:55 PM
After beginning the past 2 days with "bummers", today was certainly a red letter day.
At long last the phone call came from my oncology doctor regarding the results of my bone marrow biopsy done on the 23rd. After apologizing for the delay in getting back to me, she said that, once again, my bone marrow is "squeaky clean". There is no sign of any leukemic cells! Praise God!
At this point, she told me that she would no longer be my primary physician and that I was basically now in the hands of my bone marrow specialist. As she had once put it, it was her job to shepherd me through the leukemia phase and get me in a position whereby I was fully ready to be able to have the bone marrow transplant. She has most certainly done an outstanding job!
I most certainly have no complaints. The doctors at Dana-Farber are phenomenal. I can think of a lot more things in life that are more pleasant than having chemotherapy and undergoing bone marrow biopsies - but the course that the doctors have prescribed for me so far has been perfect in every way. Your thoughts and prayers have touched both me and those who have been administering to me and I have most certainly experienced the healing hand of God up to this point.
So I close today on a good note - having gone to a movie and out to dinner with friends and even seeing other friends as well at another table. I will miss these moments in another week - but it is a small price to pay as part of the overall effort to get to that point of "full" recovery. One cannot achieve "full" recovery until 5 years have elapsed - but a "full" life can, once again, be lived after only one year.
Until tomorrow...
Bob
At long last the phone call came from my oncology doctor regarding the results of my bone marrow biopsy done on the 23rd. After apologizing for the delay in getting back to me, she said that, once again, my bone marrow is "squeaky clean". There is no sign of any leukemic cells! Praise God!
At this point, she told me that she would no longer be my primary physician and that I was basically now in the hands of my bone marrow specialist. As she had once put it, it was her job to shepherd me through the leukemia phase and get me in a position whereby I was fully ready to be able to have the bone marrow transplant. She has most certainly done an outstanding job!
I most certainly have no complaints. The doctors at Dana-Farber are phenomenal. I can think of a lot more things in life that are more pleasant than having chemotherapy and undergoing bone marrow biopsies - but the course that the doctors have prescribed for me so far has been perfect in every way. Your thoughts and prayers have touched both me and those who have been administering to me and I have most certainly experienced the healing hand of God up to this point.
So I close today on a good note - having gone to a movie and out to dinner with friends and even seeing other friends as well at another table. I will miss these moments in another week - but it is a small price to pay as part of the overall effort to get to that point of "full" recovery. One cannot achieve "full" recovery until 5 years have elapsed - but a "full" life can, once again, be lived after only one year.
Until tomorrow...
Bob
February 2, 2009 10:15 PM
Another bummer! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - 6 more weeks of this wretched winter. Well, I guess that the good news is that we are basically missing the snow storm that's passing through tonight and tomorrow. I guess that I really shouldn't complain - living in this condo complex means never having to lift a snow shovel. But it's still cold and icy and the melting snow means that your car is covered with dirt all the time and that the roads are loaded with frost heaves and plagued with pot holes.
Other than using this opportunity to vent, it was a very quiet day as we count down to the transplant. I know that they really do not want you overdoing alcohol before the event and, fortunately(?), I still don't have a much of a desire for a drink - I can take it or leave it at this point! After the transplant, alcohol is a definite no-no, so I guess that it will be in the "leave it" category for that first 100 days.
Tomorrow we'll do the movie/dinner thing again with friends as the days dwindle down until I won't be able to do either one for a year. Gotta make them count while I can!
Not much other news - so I think that it will be a short entry for today....
Bob
Other than using this opportunity to vent, it was a very quiet day as we count down to the transplant. I know that they really do not want you overdoing alcohol before the event and, fortunately(?), I still don't have a much of a desire for a drink - I can take it or leave it at this point! After the transplant, alcohol is a definite no-no, so I guess that it will be in the "leave it" category for that first 100 days.
Tomorrow we'll do the movie/dinner thing again with friends as the days dwindle down until I won't be able to do either one for a year. Gotta make them count while I can!
Not much other news - so I think that it will be a short entry for today....
Bob
February 1, 2009 10:55 PM
Bummer! Pittsburgh won! But it was certainly an exciting game.
But, you know, if that's all I have to worry about then life is good. Now of course the countdown drops to 10 days until I go into the hospital and before "Skoja" does the same. What an amazing coincidence! As some would say "there are no such things as coincidences - only God-instances!" For me as I said yesterday, it's only a waiting game. The real battle starts on the 16th when the transplant occurs.
I don't know what it's like to be on the donor side but I can imagine that it must really be exciting to be able to do something that very few of us ever get a chance to do - to save someone's life. What a thrill that must be!
From my side of the fence, as you all know, I feel fine. This is what makes it so confusing and surreal at times. Can't we stop right here and get back to a normal life once again? But, I realize that that is just a pipe dream. For me that bag of bone marrow offers a chance at rebirth and offers that opportunity to return to that "normal life" once again. Once it is infused there is no turning back... there can be no second thoughts... there is no room for doubt... the toothpaste is out of the tube and you can't put it back...
Thank God I have my faith to sustain me. I wonder what others do at times like this when they don't have that support. It's hard for me to imagine what that must be like - to literally "go it alone".
For example, it's easy to rely on the things that we have been taught for so many years - such as the 23rd Psalm. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." What can be more reassuring than those words! I never thought that they would take on such significance in my life and I am sure that each of you probably feels the same way as well. But that is what our faith prepares us for. The moment something happens - we are ready for it!
Bob
But, you know, if that's all I have to worry about then life is good. Now of course the countdown drops to 10 days until I go into the hospital and before "Skoja" does the same. What an amazing coincidence! As some would say "there are no such things as coincidences - only God-instances!" For me as I said yesterday, it's only a waiting game. The real battle starts on the 16th when the transplant occurs.
I don't know what it's like to be on the donor side but I can imagine that it must really be exciting to be able to do something that very few of us ever get a chance to do - to save someone's life. What a thrill that must be!
From my side of the fence, as you all know, I feel fine. This is what makes it so confusing and surreal at times. Can't we stop right here and get back to a normal life once again? But, I realize that that is just a pipe dream. For me that bag of bone marrow offers a chance at rebirth and offers that opportunity to return to that "normal life" once again. Once it is infused there is no turning back... there can be no second thoughts... there is no room for doubt... the toothpaste is out of the tube and you can't put it back...
Thank God I have my faith to sustain me. I wonder what others do at times like this when they don't have that support. It's hard for me to imagine what that must be like - to literally "go it alone".
For example, it's easy to rely on the things that we have been taught for so many years - such as the 23rd Psalm. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." What can be more reassuring than those words! I never thought that they would take on such significance in my life and I am sure that each of you probably feels the same way as well. But that is what our faith prepares us for. The moment something happens - we are ready for it!
Bob
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