Oh yeah, babe.

DIRECTIONS: For the following question, select the one BEST answer:

Which of the following statements are true regarding the number 26?

1. It is a composite number.
2. It is the smallest number which is not a palindrome.
3. It is the number of miles in a marathon (plus 385 yards, of course).
4. It is the average number of times Emeril Lagasse says, "Oh yeah, babe," per episode of Emeril Live on the Food Network.
5. It is Myla's ANC, which means that her immune system is rebuilding.
6. All of the above.
7. All of the above except 4 & 6 because Emeril says, "Oh yeah, babe," far more than 26 times per episode.

If you selected option 7, your score is an A.

Oh yeah, babe.

After two weeks of Myla's ANC remaining at zero, her system is recharging itself!

We are now waiting for her ANC to reach a certain level before we are sent home for a few days. This level varies from doctor to doctor, and some "laid back" docs often dismiss patients once their ANC reaches the 100-200 range.

Oh yeah, babe.

More cautious doctors, however, usually wait until the count is in the 400-500 range.

After yesterday's chatter about us being released as early as Tuesday, the nurses are now predicting a release date closer to the end of the week.

Regardless of when we leave, we'll return on Monday, December 10, for another bone marrow test during which Myla will get her second dose of spinal chemotherapy.

This will be an outpatient procedure, and then we'll return home for a few more days.

Oh yeah, babe.

Annoying, isn't it? That's about how I felt when caught an episode of Emeril Live last week. Okay, I'll let it go.

So anyway, Raul Matthew and I are back in the hospital room today with Melissa, Myla, and Melissa's mother, Carole Byrom. Despite encouraging ANC count, Myla has felt poorly today, but she is sleeping now (4:57 PM), so that's good. [11 PM update: Myla was just given morphine to control pain caused by mucositis. Hopefully, she'll relax and sleep peacefully though the night.]

And now, for some pictures.

1. Myla watching the Colt's game this afternoon. Thanks for the outfit, Barb!
2. Raul Matthew surveys the mountain of soiled linens we found while taking a walk today through the creepy tunnel that runs underground between Riley and the University Hospital.
3. Myla's respiratory mask.
4. Myla with her thinking cap on. Why Melissa does things like this, I'll never know. (She'll try to tell you that I put the cap on Myla's head, but she's not writing this blog, is she?)
5. A Close-up of Melissa, Myla, and Raul Matthew.
6. Raul Matthew plays chess with Dale Byrom, his grandfather.
7. Certifiably adorable bunny slippers, a gift from the Pino family in Texas as part of the "Bunny by the Bay" collection. This gift package included some wonderful outfits and the softest stuffed bunny on this side of the solar system. When Plato contemplated the metaphysical properties of the Ideal soft bunny, this is what he had in mind, except that this is even softer!
8. A book of poems and prayers from Dr. & Dr. Jallad for Raul Matthew. It included a poem entitled, "My little sister."
9. Finally, here are some Christmas images from the Ronald McDonald House including an angel pretending to play a drum, a lantern-wielding shepherd who looks WAY too close to renderings of an adult Jesus to be placed in the Christmas set not to mention that they didn't have human growth hormones back then, two fake golden deer suffering from ORS (Oversized Ribbon Syndrome), and a gigantic purple Christmas ball that would put a large herd of Barney the Dinosaurs in the holiday spirit. Finally, nothing says Christmas quite like a McDonalds' Baked Apple Pie ornament.

Oh, yeah babe.

Sorry. Just had to get one more in.

There is one thing I'd like to know, however: How long would a Burger King ornament stay on a Christmas tree at the Ronald McDonald House? Inquiring minds want to know. Of course, I would NEVER conduct this type of research, and to my credit, on our first night here, I tackled Raul Matthew just before he rushed through the front doors of the Ronald McDonald House wearing a Burger King crown on his head! Some people. :)