Day 12

Thanks to Mary Pothoven for the friendly reminder to update this thing! :) I can be a slacker that way, especially when I don't have much to say. In general, no news is good news, and if things go south, then I'll likely issue updates hour-by-hour or even sooner as the situation dictates. Nonetheless, I appreciated the reminder to keep you all updated on Myla's condition.

Myla completed her chemo infusions for this second round on Thursday, so we are once again in that waiting phase for her ANC to reach zero--it's down to 14 today--and then rise again to a 100 or more before we can head back home for another week, a process which should take 2 or 3 weeks.

Myla seems to be doing exceptionally well, and the nurses continue to comment on how happy she always seems to be. Last night, a nurse told Myla, "You're the only person I've seen who smiles after finishing chemo treatments." Myla just smiled.

There hasn't been much to report during the last few days, aside from a blood transfusion. It takes a few minutes for the blood to make it through the line to Myla; here's a shot of the red stuff pushing the saline solution through the line. For some reason, I found this fascinating.

The nurses also unhooked Myla from the pumping equipment, so she is free! Melissa surprised me the other day by standing with Myla near the front entrance of the cancer center when I walked in. I was NOT expecting to see them out of the room, so that was a very pleasant surprise. We've taken a few walks around the circular hallway in the cancer center over the last couple of days.

I hadn't realized why I hadn't updated the blog during the last few days, but now that I think about it, I have shifted my focus to wanting to help some of the families who have just entered the cancer floor over the weekend. Melissa and I are hoping of ways to be an encouragement and source of helpful information for those families who are just now walking into this strange and potentially scary new world of childhood cancer. I'm kicking around some ways to add some helpful entries to this blog for newcomers to the Riley Hospital for Children, and I might even launch a lecture series (or something) either here at the hospital or over at the Ronald McDonald House.

Happy New Year to all of you!

A special greeting to one of my former students in Rossville who shared my blog with a family also staying at the Ronald McDonald House. The thing is, I have no idea who you might be, so, uh, who are you? :)

On a completely different note, I made the mistake two nights ago of picking up a paperback copy of Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities. It's an interesting tale of race relations in NYC, and I've been using the satellite imagery on Google Maps to explore places mentioned in the book. As my students know, I could give a nerdy explanation of the joys of using modern technology to enhance both TV watching and book reading, but I'll exercise a modicum of self control, which will make me feel better in case I don't get around to making resolutions for the upcoming year.