Tom Faranda This book was given to me by my friend Theresa Bonopartis. The actual title in the United States edition (the one I have) is In the Arms of Mary, but the title in all the other countries (45) where it’s been published is Praying Self-Abandonment to Divine Love. That’s an awkward but much more accurate … Read more
A couple of little developments today. While my white cell count has not really started up as of this morning’s 5 AM blood test – it was 0.1 – my red blood cells and hemoglobin numbers had improved after the transfusions of whole blood and platelets yesterday. And as the today went on, I realized … Read more
I missed posting pictures from the past two days, so here are the visitors. Here is Sue Carmody, who has worked at Sloan Kettering for a long time, paying me her second visit yesterday. She is a friend of Bill Connolly and Tom Crowley. And here is Dick Gunderman and Joe, who visited me on … Read more
Well so much for not receiving any whole blood while I’m here. This morning the team came in and said, today you are getting whole blood and platelets. My hemoglobin hit 8.0, which is the point at which you are given blood when on chemotherapy, and my platelets went below 20 (14 actually) so I … Read more
Not really any change today. We are still at zero for the cell counts and waiting for the “engrafting” and the counts to go up. Mouth and throat no change, still very manageable with the morphine pump. The new attending physician – the transplant docs take two week turns making rounds on the floor and … Read more
I finished 1776 today, and what a really fine, fine book. I couldn’t recommend it more. Gary McCullough’s narrative history of the year of the Declaration of Independence, from the human perspective of George Washington, his army and his opponents. There is some special interest for those of us who live in the New York … Read more
Why, the USS Winston S. Churchill, of course! Hit the link for it’s action today. AOL News – U.S. Navy Seizes Pirate Ship Off Somalia The reason I know this interesting but useless bit of trivia, is because I got Brigid a "USS Winston S. Churchill" baseball cap a few years ago. When she wears … Read more
An uneventful day (uneventful is good). The staff came in, said things were going well, and I got another platelets transfusion. My mouth and throat seem better. Perhaps because of the lidocaine mouth rinse and the morphine pump. The nurses can see how many times I’ve given myself a dose, and said that I’m using … Read more
I didn’t post yesterday (so this post is likely to be a jumble) for the following reason: around 8 o’clock as I was firing up the laptop the nursing tech came in to do the vital signs, including temperature. She does everything and then says, “Your temperature is 38° (Centigrade). You have a fever. Are … Read more
Today was a day of a few firsts. I got my first transfusion. I had my first return visitor (besides Brigid). I set a personal record for visitors (6). For the first time, I talked and saw the boys on a videophone. I threw up for the first time. And I got my first dose … Read more