Catch that pigeon!

Today was Tim's first appt. since going off Velcade. I was a bit nervous. I tried to brace myself and him for a rise in numbers and said it's OK as long as it levels off at some point. Last month,
he went off chemo based mostly on a second(actually our third) opinion. Tim's doc felt it was still
working and would have kept going but the neuropathy had started and I did not want it getting worse and the last month
on it his M-spike went from .23 to .21 and Igg which is already below normal just down a few more points. It looked a lot like a plateau to me. Anyhow, imagine my surprise when I look at
his lab reports and see his M-spike to be 0.06 and Igg even further down. I had to check the patient's name just to be
sure I got the right paperwork. I did not see that coming but damn near broke out into another
happy dance. Dang was I happy. So for the first time in a looooonnnngggg time, he can go two months before doing the old pee-in-a-jug, pump out blood and doctor's appt. routine. So anyway,
we met a couple we've seen and gabbed with several times before as well as a guy who is in a
complete remission and is 45 and has a 12 year old daughter. Many times, we wind up having
a little support group right there in the waiting room. It passes the time and we meet the nicest
people. Anyway this guy is from the Philippines. Out of 11 siblings, only one was a match, his
eldest sister who is 65. They have been fighting with immigration for 3 years to allow her to
come over and donate cells and now it's approved and he is in CR and has been since last year.
He doesn't know what to do but he tells us a story about someone he knows in the Philippines who has MM and neither the money nor the place to get modern treatment for it. He said Philippinos use natural medicines and believe in a lot of different things healing wise and they
swear that pigeons have the antibodies to fight MM and so this guy is going to these specialty stores in North Bergen and Paterson,
NJ and buying and eating pigeon meat. Medically,
it sounded like the docs don't know why he went into a CR and supposedly this guy in the Philippines
is doing well too. I said "does it taste like chicken?!" He said no. He said it's quite gamey and
expensive and you need beer to get it down(a spoonful of sugar and all that.) But I'm thinking
maybe it's time to break out my old pistol and pop me a few pigeons and frickazee them little
suckers in some garlic and wine sauce. Well it's a thought. Tim vetoed it immediately. I've heard
crazier things but that's for another post. Time to cook dinner. No pigeon tonight but who knows
what might be in the meatloaf next week?!!!

Caution: parent shamelessly bragging about kid

As I think I have said in a former post, I try very hard to find things to be grateful for to try to
save my sanity(not sure that's working) and keep the old blues at bay. Today I must brag about
our kid. She is about to graduate the 4th grade and go on to an upper elementary school. It seems like not long ago at all that we were walking to her first day of kindergarten at this school.
It goes by so fast. Today, Olivia was chosen to be a special guest in the speech class to give the
speech students a chance to show what they learn there. The speech teacher came up to me
after school and told me she was a joy and she so loved having her there. This is the second time this year that teacher has complemented Olivia on her behavior with other kids and told me how much she likes her.
At her teacher conferences, they always tell us that Olivia is well-liked and a big help to other
kids. Her teacher this year actually told us that it amazes her that a 9 year old(10 now) and an only child at that is so caring and lacking the self centeredness that most kids that age
and only children especially have. She told us how ALL the boys in the 4th grade treat her like she is their sister as they are so comfortable with her(not always a good thing.) My sister told me after taking care of her for the bulk of
the 2 weeks we were gone for Tim's transplant that she loved being with her and playing mom.
She has no kids. She told me that Tim and I have definitely done something right with her. Not to get too morbid but she and her husband are childless by choice and she is the executor of our
wills and in charge of appointing someone to raise Olivia if something should happen to us. I never thought they would be interested and they told me that they don't care who we prefer, they're taking her! She is a cool kid. She is smart and was chosen this year to get a proclamation
from our mayor as one of the top 3 readers in her school. This girls just knocks us out. Thinking
back on all the times teachers in this school have complimented her just makes us bubble over
with pride. Being smart and good in sports is nice and all but raising a good person is so important to me. Today, and everyday, I thank God for blessing us with this easy-going,
adventurous, compassionate, smart, fun-loving and unbelievably cool little girl. There have
not been many times in my life that I have felt "lucky" but getting this kid was a like hitting
the lottery.