Turn and Face the Change

Here is the daily picture, but I changed the spot to get a better angle and light, and I am showing my teeth so we can watch them degrade with chemo. They will look like 2 point buck antlers, with that green fuzz, in about 2 weeks, after they nix brushing with anything but that crappy little pink sponge on a stick. Here is Mike Beauchemin's face after he had to look at my face on chemo.

Here he is normal, not much difference. He is sending me the yoga poster in the background, practice, practice, practice.
These three are the Blozan boys, and this picture really struck me because I can totally see aspects of Nick and Dyan in each kid. I need Nick and Dyan photos to prove my point.
And this is my Las Guapas cheering team, that recently scaled Half Dome and then base jumped back to SLO using only stale Pita bread from Yosemite Lodge. These women are smarter and stronger than me, so I am glad they are on my side and don't mind me making up stories about them. They moonlight as Bounty Hunters.

I was reading this book at home called 'Guns, Germs and Steel', kind of scholarly, not a quick read, but very interesting in how it shows the ecological and societal factors that allowed humans to spread to the parts of the planet they went to, and what advantages they gained depending on where they went. Now I am reading 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver, about a family that went to the Congo as missionaries, and it really strikes me how the 2 books intertwine. The poor missionaries could not see the futility of trying to transplant their ideology to the Congo without first understanding the whole ecology. This seems to me to be rampant in the world today, as we try to shove our ideologies down others' throats with no concern for how they came to be the way they are.

It is 9:15 am, and they just rammed 120mg Prednisone and a Protonix down my throat, hooah, should be humming along any minute now. The doctor team just left, and let me just say I love my doctor team and they love me. All 6 of them come in every morning just beaming at me, they are so pleased to have someone that is doing well. They told me this morning that my WBC count is still in the healthy range, and even better, I do not have the Philadelphia chromosome so I won't need Gleevec (the happy drug).

They confirmed that we have probably caught this very early and that is why my bone marrow is still working somewhat - I am maybe in the state I was in in January '05, when I just started noticing odd things. And the very early catch should mean an easier path to remission.

Yesterday was really a pretty good day in spite of lack of sleep. The doctors took me off the mask as I am healthy, but I couldn't shake the IV pole until 1:30 because I was getting magnesium and potassium, typical deficiencies. At 1:30 I cruised, from one good book reading spot to another, took advantage of the 'extended by rule of John' perimeter of the hospital. I found some great spots I'd never been to - this below is a small part of the Arizona Garden, an incredible array of cacti and succulents.

Including the after dinner walk I put on 9912 steps, about 5 miles. I feel good, and I have to walk off the steroids.The doctors asked me this morning how I was able to put on so many miles within the hospital, and I told them that the corridors are full of art and I travel all the side corridors also, as well as the perimeter areas (not a lie). I did not elaborate further. If I get sicker we will tighten the rules. I told nurse Gwen I went to the Oakland As game last night.

I took an Atavan last night at 9:30, and Ambien at 10:30, and slept like a baby until 5:15, when I awoke and swore it was 7:00. I had the sensation I was late for work, so I got out of bed and put on my morning warm PJs and hat, to scare anyone out of my way on the way to get coffee. This is my early morning garb - Kim Zerbe made me the hat, a Zerbe Derby! I am styling, and there is no question but that I am the Chief Bull Goose Looney on the F Ground ward. Look out Nurse Ratchett!