Yesterday, we left our house at 7:15 am and drove to New York. Mysteriously, there was no traffic and we made it to our destination in Long Island City at 10:00 am. L.I. City sits under the 59th Street Bridge and is more or less an industrial wasteland. My husband had a job interview there, the first one he's had since he was laid off in April.
After the interview, which went well, we met friends for lunch nearby. This is New York: the bleak turns into the chic within a few blocks. I had a hearty appetite (surprise!), and it was great to be out with friends. After lunch, we headed into Manhattan to visit our son at Columbia. This was especially meaningful for me, since I'd been unable to take him to college in September. The midday traffic was bad. Even though my husband grew up in NYC and lived there for much of his adult life, you forget the best way to get from Point A to Point B. We made it to Columbia in non-record time and then had to find parking. After whirling around for 15 minutes, we found a spot on Amsterdam and were all set to walk away when a kindly gentleman pointed out we were parked illegally and would be towed. Back in the car, more whirling--a true taste of Manhattan.
The dorms were empty so it was safe for me to go inside without a mask. Mark went back early to train for track; classes don't start until Tuesday. He has a nice room on the 10th floor that gets lots of light. You can see the top sliver of the Empire State Building if you know where to look. This mission accomplished, we got back in the car and drove further uptown to the Armory, where high school and college track meets are run. My daughter was competing in the 800m dash at 4. The arena was filled with college students, so I took no chances and wore a mask until I found a remote seat in the back. It was fun to see her run (she came in 4th), and we had a chance to visit with her a little after the race.
We left at 5pm, in the heart of rush hour. It would take us 4 hours to get home at this rate, so I called my friend Connie who lives 30-40 minutes outside of the City and asked here if she was up for an impromptu visit. Always game for anything (she's from Nebraska), she said sure. We ordered in pizza and I spent an hour or so snoozing on the couch wrapped in a snuggy. At 8:30 we left for Rhode Island. I continued my nap in the car. We arrived home around two hours later. I stumbled up to my bedroom, put on my pj's and collapsed into bed. I haven't had a day like this since relapsing in April. It was exhausting, but it's good to know I have the energy to get through and enjoy life like a normsie.
Today, I rest.
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Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
Tale of a Cord Blood Transplantee Who Relapses and Goes on to Have a Matched Unrelated-Donor Transplant
The Weight
Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
ABOUT ME
In March 2006, I was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Life as I knew it came to a crashing halt. After enduring a month in the hospital where I received intense chemotherapy, I was declared "in remission." I had three additional treatments and remained cancer-free until May 2007, when I relapsed.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
4 comments:
I look up "full day" in the dictionary and found this blog post ;)
I'm raising a glass to your normal day. Of course, it's filled with water, but I'm pretending it's something with a vintage. :) I'm mailing that book I threatened you with tomorrow, so you should have it by the end of the week. Cheers!
Sounds like a great day. Glad you had fun and finished with a nice nap. Very normal indeed! (I especially relate to the NYC search for parking and the judgment call on when to leave.
So happy- steps towards normalcy.
I would have been EXHAUSTED after a day like that since you are not even a year out from transplant. I would have been asleep in the backset.
Good luck for you and your husband on the interview!
xo-Lea
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