Round 30 and (almost) 31

Well, I haven’t blogged in quite a while. The holidays were full of friends and family and birthday parties (for both me and David who turned 14). I had chemo round 30 on December 28th and it went as usual.

Unfortunately, I went for Round 31 yesterday and, after a 2 hour wait to see my onc, I found out that I failed my liver function blood test. My levels were several times higher than the acceptable maximum. So, they took a little extra blood to do a few extra tests – like a hepatitis check – and sent me home. I will try again next week and, hopefully, my levels will return to normal. I’m not sure if this is a sign of things to come or just a bump in the road. We’ll see.

Omens

I’m not a superstitious person but I have a little story of omens to share. Last winter, when I was quite sick and still dealing with my diagnosis, I was awakened every morning by a group of crows that alight on the trees outside my bedroom window. Every morning for weeks on end, these crows would come caw and squawk to wake me up. It was rather annoying and, since crows are traditional symbols of death, their morning greeting was that much less enjoyable. It was odd to me that of all the trees in our neighborhood, these darn crows chose my window to serenade every day. When spring came, they found somewhere else to go and I was glad to be rid of them.

I had forgotten about the crows until late summer, when I went up to Cape Cod for a few days. One afternoon, I was taking a quick nap on the couch while waiting for a friend to drop buy. A group of crows chose that moment to come sit on the railing of the deck right outside the window and cawed their lungs out as I tried to nap. When my friend arrived, I mentioned to her about how the crows seem to be following me. She emailed me a few days later to say that she had looked into the symbolism of crows. They are not just symbols of death but are often viewed in mythology as symbols of transition or change. That is a less ominous interpretation so I prefer it.

So, yesterday, on Christmas morning, I went down to the curb to get the paper and heard a loud knocking, like someone hammering. Above me in the tree were two large Pileated Woodpeckers. They were pounding away at the tree and knocking off chunks of bark looking for a six-legged breakfast. I was pretty impressed. I often see the little Downy woodpeckers in our tress and the Flicka, which also ground feeds. But Pileateds are pretty large and I have only seen or heard their calls or hammering when deep in the woods. I have never seen them in the more open, residential areas. So, I decided to look up the mythology of the woodpecker.

Woodpeckers are a symbol of opportunity (as in Opportunity Knocks – what other animals see such hope for a good meal in a dead tree?). They are also associated with a source of creativity or returning to ones roots. Now that’s a good omen for Christmas day.

I am still not a big believer in the supernatural. But the crows and woodpeckers do make a good catalyst to ponder 2009 and 2010. 2009 was certainly a year of transition. Not just for my family but for the many thousands who have been affected by layoffs, foreclosures and the trials of a bad economy. But perhaps 2010 will bring about new opportunity, new sources of creativity and a returning to the important things – like family and friends – who are the roots of who we are. So I wish you all the best for new opportunities in 2010 as we transition to the New Year. Merry Christmas!

Round 29 and Snowflakes

As I await the coming foot or so of snow, I thought I'd post a quick blog. On Tuesday I went for Round 29. I also had a scan on Monday. My scan came back stable - so treatment is still working nicely.

To thank the staff for all their help this year, I brought them a big tray of cupcakes from Crumbs. If you are not a New Yorker, Crumbs is a bakery chain in the city that makes the most incredible cupcakes. I went to the one on 3rd Ave at 53rd Street but there are many other locations. I recommend a visit if you are a cupcake lover (which I am)!

So far, it's been a nice start to the holiday season. All the Hannukah candles have been lit and it's now time to put up my Charlie Brown tree in the window. The snow will make a nice backdrop for the season. For Northeasterners, the foot or so we expect will be handled well I expect since we have lots of plows and salt spreaders. I doubt there will be school closings on Monday - much to the dismay of the kids. But they'll get some sledding in! As for my good friends in Richmond, your kids will probably get the week off! I saw on WTVR.com this morning that Richmond got about a foot! That's probably a "10 year event" so digging out will take a while! Or perhaps y'all will just have to wait for it all to melt! Hope you got in that last run to Ukrops to stock up on milk and bread!

And a piece of trivia for you - I researched today how many snowflakes it takes to build a snowman. The answer is about 2 to 3 million! First kid to gues the answer gets dibs on the hot chocolate!

I hope you are enjoyng the season...think I'll go build a fire in the fireplace now...BB

Rep Allyson Schwartz and Healthcare

Hey all, one of the Reps I spoke with in DC this fall was interviewed on the healthcare issue on CSPAN this week. Here's a link to her interview. It's about 25 minutes long but if you are interested in her perspective, it's all here.http://cspan.org/Watch/Media/2009/12/11/WJE/A/27140/Rep+Allyson+Schwartz+DPA.aspx

Now back to baking cookies....BB

Thanksgiving and Rounds 27 and 28

Well, it’s been quite a long time since I have blogged. The holiday season has gotten off to a busy start!

We had a good crowd at Thanksgiving – about 20 people – and everyone seemed to have a good time. I went down to Florida for a weekend and brought my father back up to spend the week here during Thanksgiving and spend some time with the family. That was fun – plus I got in a couple of 80 degree days in Tampa!

At Thanksgiving, I did a small pre-dinner ceremony by reading the two known personal accounts of the first Thanksgiving and going through the answers to the Thanksgiving trivia quiz we handed out during the cocktail hour. But more importantly, I had the opportunity to thank our family and friends who were present for their tremendous support this past year. It was a tough one for our little family but everyone’s good wishes and support made a real difference. I am very happy and thankful to be here and be in relatively good condition. Thank you all for your help!

As for my treatment, since my last post I have had two more rounds of chemo – Numbers 27 and 28. And fall has turned to winter. The rounds were the usual routine; which is a good thing. The city is abuzz with holiday shoppers and vacationers. I see a lot of people speaking foreign tongues and huddled around tourist maps on 5th Avenue. Perhaps that’s a good sign for the economy.

And just for fun, here's my picture of Rocky the Squirrel, who has for several weeks been sitting on our deck eating acorns to fatten up for winter. Like us, the holiday season is nuts for him, too.

I hope you are all enjoying the season and planning lots of festivities. I also hope to see many of you before it gets bitterly cold and I start dreaming again of heading south!

Football Season is Over (at least for now)

Since I've blogged about Vicki's sports, I thought I'd give David some airtime. Yesterday was his team's last football game of the year. The boys played well but alas, they lost 14 -12 on missed extra points. It's the third time this year they lost on extra points! But it was a very good game that literally came down to the last play - where they came up just short of scoring the winning TD as time ran out (they were down to the 12 yard line).

Dave played a great game including stripping the ball from the runningback at their own 1 yard line to stop a drive (he played linebacker this game although he played a lot more free safety during the year). So, we are on to basketball season - and next year - freshman football at the high school!

Here are a few pics - of Dave about to make a tackle (number 81 in red in the center of the shot). of him also about to make a tackle and getting blocked in the back (so he got the tackle and some penalty yards), and his disappointed I-don't-want-my-picture-taken post game portrait.

Am going for treatment tomorrow...hope you like the pictures (and are patient with me braggin' on my boy!) BB

Round 26

I moved my chemo treatments this month to Tuesdays to work around some other scheduling things this month so I had it yesterday. It was a very, very long day as the place was packed and Dr. S had to cover other patients. I didn't get home until about 9 pm! But, treatment was the usual fare. I did confirm with Dr. S that he wants me to stay the course on treatment for as long as I can put up with the side effects. Since I've been able to manage them so far, I told him that I will just suck it up and keep going. If it gets really bad, I may get a holiday - but I'm going to do my best to just stay the course.

Today, we leave for a couple of days in Washington, DC to take Vicki to see some colleges. (Vicki in college - I can'r believe it!). But junior year is the year to do your homework on schools. We will be seeing American University, George Washington and Georgetown. And we'll have a half day off to just see things in DC. Since I'm on the bottle for the next day or so, I hope I have the energy to take the tours. I may just do the info sessions and then sleep in the car while Vicki and Robbie get the campus tour. We'll see.

As a brief aside to yesterday's trip to the clinic, I had lunch during my break with a former colleague at AXA. I went to her place on 46th street so I got my walk in. On the way, I passed a construction site and two guys with shovels were mixing a wheelbarrow of concrete on the sidewalk. As I passed, I heard one say to the other "It's not my f**king fault that Darwinism failed!" I really wonder what these two philosophers were arguing about!

Be well! BB