I was a little disappointed today that I could not attend my granddaughter's 4th birthday party. My wife did go for a while. However, my current situation is still a lot better than the alternative and I have to keep reminding myself to be grateful for what I do have. It's not often easy. Especially when I know that there is still such a long way to go here.
Tomorrow is my first Father's Day since I was diagnosed with my disease but no festivities are planned. Other family activities during the weekend have taken precedence. Nothing involving me but it keeps the family occupied such that there is no way that we can all get together tomorrow.
Oh, yes. I should provide an update on my filing with the disability insurance company to have disability check directly deposited to my account. Now recall that I sent in the forms right after Memorial Day. Yesterday, I get a letter from them saying that they cannot honor my request because I am not the main account owner. I find this hard to believe when, for years now, I have had the companies that I worked for deposit my paycheck by EFT without any problem. These people are a bunch of pips. They are almost impossible to work with. It's one thing to not have the convenience of direct deposit but it's a whole different story when you have to wait 5 business days for the check to clear. It makes no sense to me but it will give me another battle to fight and something to do. I guess that God wishes to keep me from getting completely bored.
I still feel fine and I'm kind of looking forward to the Wednesday doctor's visit to get an update as to how my blood counts are doing.
An early Happy Father's Day greeting to those of you to whom it applies...
Bob
June 19, 2009 10:50 PM
In general, it was a quiet day for me. I did a little work around the house, that's all.
We had our dinner company. Our parttime church deacon who was diagnosed with leukemia back in April and her husband. Though we talked about our responses to the disease, it was not an evening to dwell on it. For her, the journey is almost over after going into the hospital one more time in July for her final chemo treatment. While for me, it is simply waiting it out - assuming that there are no complications from graft vs host disease.
Both our attitudes remain positive and, although we did not wish to see this be our demise, we were both prepared for its occurrence. It's a common bond that shall always be with us and to continue to make new friends is one of life's greatest blessings. I also expressed my regrets about not being able to attend the birthday party that the two of then are sharing next weekend. She fully understood and reluctantly accepted the fact that we could not attend.
Other than that, my health still remains fine.
I think that that will about do it for today...
Bob
We had our dinner company. Our parttime church deacon who was diagnosed with leukemia back in April and her husband. Though we talked about our responses to the disease, it was not an evening to dwell on it. For her, the journey is almost over after going into the hospital one more time in July for her final chemo treatment. While for me, it is simply waiting it out - assuming that there are no complications from graft vs host disease.
Both our attitudes remain positive and, although we did not wish to see this be our demise, we were both prepared for its occurrence. It's a common bond that shall always be with us and to continue to make new friends is one of life's greatest blessings. I also expressed my regrets about not being able to attend the birthday party that the two of then are sharing next weekend. She fully understood and reluctantly accepted the fact that we could not attend.
Other than that, my health still remains fine.
I think that that will about do it for today...
Bob
June 18, 2009 10:45 PM
It was a frustrating day of sorts. During the day my flat screen monitor died. However, as I tracked down the problem, it was not my monitor at all - it was the transformer that went. Now comes the fun part! Try to find someone who sells just the transformer. They don't exist! Phone calls to everywhere generated the universal response of "We don't sell transformers, try the internet"!
With a little digging, I did find and order one on the internet. But, I still needed a monitor. Fortunately, I had an old 19-inch CRT floating around that I could use. But floating is a poor choice of words as this thing weighs enough to be a boat anchor! After several years of sitting on a shelf, it still powered up fine and it works! So it will suffice until the US Postal Service delivers my new transformer. We all know how speedy those folks are!
And now for something much more serious and meaningful. My daughter e-mailed me a brochure from a young man who has leukemia and is sponsoring an on-line bone marrow drive. The way that I understand it is that you register at the web site, the send you a kit to allow you to take a mouth swab, you take the mouth swab, and return it in the supplied envelope. Very
simple!
Pictured below is the young man and his family. His name is Adam Ripka and his story is below the picture.
Adam, a veteran who served in Iraq from 2003-2004, has been married to his wife, Katrina, since May of 2006. On March 6, 2009 they welcomed their new baby boy, Jonah. Thirteen days later Adam was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Adam was fortunate enough to find a match and he is scheduled for a bone marrow transplant on June 23. However, only three out of every ten patients will find a potentially life saving marrow donor. Please help others like Adam and join the Be The Match Registry, you could save a life!
Date: June 8 – June 22nd, 2009
Time: Anytime! The drive is online; after registering you will be mailed your mouth swab kit
along with a pre-stamped return envelope.
Location: www.bethematch.org
Click on "join the registry", then on "join now"!
To avoid the standard $52 fee you MUST use Adam’s promo code: CM579
Click on "join the registry", then on "join now"!
To avoid the standard $52 fee you MUST use Adam’s promo code: CM579
To join, you only need to be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patient, and meet the health guidelines.
Please register, you have the power to heal and the power to save a life....
Bob
June 17, 2009 11:00 PM
Not too much of interest today.
But I did want to mention that the deacon who was diagnosed with leukemia back in April will be coming for dinner on Friday night with her husband. This will be a new experience for me to have so much time to share our experiences, our feelings, our hopes, and our dreams while fighting this battle. Of course, you come in contact with a number of people with leukemia at the Dana-Farber clinic but you don't have a lot of time to share and, given the fact that these are complete strangers, you don't necessarily share it all either. I am looking forward to seeing her.
Other than shaking her hand after church the few times that she was there, I have never really spoken to her all except by telephone. Of course, our common bond draws us close together. She and her husband are giving a joint birthday party for the 2 of them as they both reach 70 this year. The party is June 27th and I just cannot go(too many people). It's another in a string of events that I would so dearly like to attend - but I can't.
I am continuing my effort to undertake some constructive work around the house every day as I am able. I did more today but, of course, I got tired so I stop. But I think that this will help me to build up my strength and my stamina - and it gets needed tasks accomplished. It appears to be win-win. Only time will tell.
Healthwise, it's the usual - no problems.
I didn't miss Boston at all today. But I won't be able to say the same for next Wednesday.
Until tomorrow...
Bob
But I did want to mention that the deacon who was diagnosed with leukemia back in April will be coming for dinner on Friday night with her husband. This will be a new experience for me to have so much time to share our experiences, our feelings, our hopes, and our dreams while fighting this battle. Of course, you come in contact with a number of people with leukemia at the Dana-Farber clinic but you don't have a lot of time to share and, given the fact that these are complete strangers, you don't necessarily share it all either. I am looking forward to seeing her.
Other than shaking her hand after church the few times that she was there, I have never really spoken to her all except by telephone. Of course, our common bond draws us close together. She and her husband are giving a joint birthday party for the 2 of them as they both reach 70 this year. The party is June 27th and I just cannot go(too many people). It's another in a string of events that I would so dearly like to attend - but I can't.
I am continuing my effort to undertake some constructive work around the house every day as I am able. I did more today but, of course, I got tired so I stop. But I think that this will help me to build up my strength and my stamina - and it gets needed tasks accomplished. It appears to be win-win. Only time will tell.
Healthwise, it's the usual - no problems.
I didn't miss Boston at all today. But I won't be able to say the same for next Wednesday.
Until tomorrow...
Bob
June 16, 2009 10:45 PM
I had a mild scare last night when I went to post the entry for the day. There was an error and it didn't get posted. I knew that the posts are automatically saved as you write but the error was not a common one and I thought that I had lost it for good. However, I searched around a bit and was fortunate enough to find a way to recover it. Thank God!
As you probably saw, the post was a little long and I hate rewriting them. When I was in the hospital, the hospital's funky networking system would periodically cut you off and I lost a couple of posts that I had to rewrite. Then, I simply went to writing them in Word and copying them. This worked great. But until yesterday, I never had a problem with posting from home. But have I learned my lesson and switched to entering them in Word first? No way!
I did forget to mention yesterday(I always forget something) that opening our 2 computers to change the memory was like entering another world. The dust and cobwebs looked like something out of a grade B horror movie. So, I vacuumed first and then sprayed air to remove the rest of the dust. I still don't think that all the dust that went flying has landed.
I did do one small project today. But I had originally planned to do more. I just get tired more easily now so I stopped. I don't get sleepy tired, I just get physically tired. You just don't know how far you are from normal until you try to do normal things.
Tomorrow is the last of the Wednesday off days for the month of June. So we'll enjoy not traveling to Boston one more time.
I am reminded that along the way, several of you have asked me to keep you in my prayers and I have done so. This is not a one way street - we all have needs of one kind or another and praying is certainly one of the things that I can do. Please know that I have not forgotten you.
Even when not much is going on, I can get pretty longwinded. So I'll call it quits for today...
Bob
As you probably saw, the post was a little long and I hate rewriting them. When I was in the hospital, the hospital's funky networking system would periodically cut you off and I lost a couple of posts that I had to rewrite. Then, I simply went to writing them in Word and copying them. This worked great. But until yesterday, I never had a problem with posting from home. But have I learned my lesson and switched to entering them in Word first? No way!
I did forget to mention yesterday(I always forget something) that opening our 2 computers to change the memory was like entering another world. The dust and cobwebs looked like something out of a grade B horror movie. So, I vacuumed first and then sprayed air to remove the rest of the dust. I still don't think that all the dust that went flying has landed.
I did do one small project today. But I had originally planned to do more. I just get tired more easily now so I stopped. I don't get sleepy tired, I just get physically tired. You just don't know how far you are from normal until you try to do normal things.
Tomorrow is the last of the Wednesday off days for the month of June. So we'll enjoy not traveling to Boston one more time.
I am reminded that along the way, several of you have asked me to keep you in my prayers and I have done so. This is not a one way street - we all have needs of one kind or another and praying is certainly one of the things that I can do. Please know that I have not forgotten you.
Even when not much is going on, I can get pretty longwinded. So I'll call it quits for today...
Bob
June 15, 2009 10:45 PM
Not all that boring today, there are a few things of interest - at least to me!
The first of which is that after referring to this very computer as being dog slow a week or so ago, I ordered enough memory to max it out along with enough to max out my wife's machine as well. It runs the size from .5 gig to 2 gigs - not a lot in today's world but an improvement anyway. Well, the memory arrived today and I put it in both machines. The speed change was not dramatic but there was an improvement - but not as much as I would have liked to see. I kind of liken it to putting a splint on a horse with a broken leg and then expecting it to win the Kentucky Derby. High hopes - but unrealistic expectations!
Secondly, we went to Lowe's this morning(very few people on a Monday morning) and bought some materials to do some small projects around the house - mostly electrical in nature. These are great projects to do as the materials are cheap and the added convenience after they're done is well worth it. We also bought some ceiling tiles to redo those in a small room downstairs. I did notice that I was a little tuckered out after getting everything home and positioning all the stuff to get ready to do the projects. I'll definitely be taking the implementation very slowly - a little a time. Of course, what do I have plenty of right now - time! So this is right up my alley.
Lastly is the most important occurrence of the day. My coworkers sent me another card wishing me well and a speedy recovery. I cannot thank them enough for thinking of me and taking the time to sign and send the card. With my company in bankruptcy, they are all overworked and concerned about their job status. I know that rumours abound. To still think of me in these trying times is very heartwarming and humbling. It's been almost 8 months since I left to go to the hospital and it will be at least another 8 months before I can even consider returning.
Little things like this provide an immeasurable boost. I want them to know that I constantly think of them as well - they are a good group of people.
Thanks so much for the lift...
Bob
June 14, 2009 10:45 PM
Well, it was nice to hear from our friends today that this blog is never boring! That's what friends are for! I sometimes get the feeling that they are being kind because it is hard for me to imagine that some of these entries hold any interest for you.
Today was another one of those days when nothing of any real interest happened. Our friends were here for dinner and we had a good day catching up on things. But the weather was basically horrible for a lot of the day as it was a pouring rain.
One of my daughters and grandson stopped by as she is trying to familiarize herself with the 6-speed standard shift car that she just bought. She's a little rusty. I did drive it twice over the weekend and, as much as I like a standard shift car, I now find that all that shifting bothers my left knee. Boy, for some things, it's not fun getting old!
No problems with my health and we're now only 10 days from my next doctor's visit. I'm looking forward to continuing to decrease my dosage of immuno-suppressants.
The comment was also made today that I've lost weight. Well, I have if you consider what my original weight was when this whole process started. But, after the first month in the hospital, my weight has basically stayed the same and I am eating whatever I want whenever I want. Appetite is the key thing here, they do want me to keep on eating and drinking lots of water which I am still doing. But those nightly trips to the bathroom are really getting to be a pain in the neck. A good, solid night's sleep is something that I have not had since last November.
Well, I that I have captured the bulk of what went on today along with my perpetual gripe about my sleeping habits.
That'll be it for today...
Bob
Today was another one of those days when nothing of any real interest happened. Our friends were here for dinner and we had a good day catching up on things. But the weather was basically horrible for a lot of the day as it was a pouring rain.
One of my daughters and grandson stopped by as she is trying to familiarize herself with the 6-speed standard shift car that she just bought. She's a little rusty. I did drive it twice over the weekend and, as much as I like a standard shift car, I now find that all that shifting bothers my left knee. Boy, for some things, it's not fun getting old!
No problems with my health and we're now only 10 days from my next doctor's visit. I'm looking forward to continuing to decrease my dosage of immuno-suppressants.
The comment was also made today that I've lost weight. Well, I have if you consider what my original weight was when this whole process started. But, after the first month in the hospital, my weight has basically stayed the same and I am eating whatever I want whenever I want. Appetite is the key thing here, they do want me to keep on eating and drinking lots of water which I am still doing. But those nightly trips to the bathroom are really getting to be a pain in the neck. A good, solid night's sleep is something that I have not had since last November.
Well, I that I have captured the bulk of what went on today along with my perpetual gripe about my sleeping habits.
That'll be it for today...
Bob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
