Today is Friday, November 26th

We awoke to a gorgeous clear day on the coast... my leg pains were gone and Tracy had had a night of light sweats with his stomach intact.  We decided to call Stanford, preemptively avoiding being scolded, to inform the doctors that Tracy had had some night sweats and that the antibiotics were tearing up his stomach.  I suggested that we separate the pills, one with breakfast and the other with dinner.  Dr. Dunn, the doctor on call, said she felt comfortable eliminating one of the super drugs and that has boded better for T today.  The blood culture isn't back yet and we feel it's a day of rest.


Off to the chiropractor, the library and Safeway to load up on liquids for T... root beer, ginger ale, 7-up and gatorade. 


I called my Aunt Etta, mom's twin sister who celebrated her 97th birthday yesterday.  She was full of good cheer.  Her voice is exactly like my mom's...they were identical although my mom was more petite... sometimes I imagine it is my mom again... I guess you never get over that yearning to hear their reassurances and that all encompassing feeling of unconditional love...


 Turkey sandwich for lunch and then, time for a nap for all...  Dinner was an open faced hot turkey, stuffing slathered with gravy sandwich, cranberry oozing out all over & T's favorite root beer to complete the perfect picture of serenity... we cuddled by the fireplace, reading while listening to our favorite jazz station until it was time to call it a night.... 


Thank you for a day of peace!!!

Thanksgiving Day, November 25th

Today I am thankful for family, friends, Tracy and Riley....energy, sunshine, rain and the prospects of the future with my honey feeling no pain...

I rolled out of bed with a game plan...21 lbs. of turkey in the oven and cooked so, that we'd eat by 1:30...  oh boy, that means work it!  So, oven set to 350 degrees, coffee maker perking away, juice downed with vitamins, food processor chopping up carrots, onions and celery for the bottom of the turkey pan and then, I just went for it... what the hey...stuffing...no recipe but there it was... waiting... cornbread croutons, celery, carrots, onions, cranberries, an orange, herbs...and butter... washed the turkey after I emptied out all the crevices (one year I actually forgot to take out the bag of giblets) and rubbed butter all over (ok so, I cheated but margarine just didn't seem right)  and left pats of butter under the skin and stuffed that baby.. this turkey wasn't going to be dry on my watch!  In the oven at 7:38 AM breast side up for 2 1/2 hours under foil...basting, basting, basting... as my kitchen started filling with smoke, I realized that this very large turkey was dribbling on the bottom of the oven and it was burning ...I am very thankful for the great exhaust fan we have at times like these...  so, I turned that turkey over and the smoke stopped and the aroma was tantalizing...,mmmm  .. meanwhile,   oatmeal for our breakfast, set the table and started the cranberry orange sauce...  stripped the bed cause T had a couple of night sweats and dressed.... everything was ready and Lila arrived with flowers and her world famous stuffing to go in the oven...wow!  She stayed for a couple minutes and then, Sue & Evelyn (our wonderful Riley loving neighbors who care for him when we can't), and the gorgeous girls, Carla & Hayley all arrived bearing mashed potatoes, salad, green beans & bacon, and homemade cookies, cranberry bread and cupcakes.  What a feast!!!    


I am truly thankful for a day of normalcy... thank you God!!  thank you my friends and thank you my family for all your loving support!!!

Sue, Evelyn, Tracy, Carla & Hayley

Hayley, Carla and me

Catching up again Mon, Tues, Wed. Nov.22-24th

Monday was a blur.. lots of catch up plus cash for keys program worked beautifully for my new listing.  Poor gal hit a bad stretch... her mom had had a spinal cord accident in the Philippines where there isn't any health insurance and bribery is how things get taken care of.  Never realized that we had it sooo good!  T had held his own all day and after we ate dinner; I spent the evening working on getting my 1031 exchange back on track.


Tuesday,  after a largely sleepless night because I was uncomfortable with the deal we'd struck; I doubled down and finally, my client was satisfied and happy.  Hours of paperwork and then, she signed off her documents so, we will close by the 30th.  Unfortunately,  the Corralitos deal wasn't to be.  Sometimes there's just no way... still waiting to hear on Mike & Janet's home... at least it's in the system...that's a good thing!


Tracy was down in the dumps... his ankles were very swollen and he had severe chills before we went to sleep.  We made a list of the things we needed to speak to the doctors about: hand cramps, shivering & trembling, swelling, treatment?  We took an early shower after dinner and got into bed.


Today, Nov. 24th is our 15th anniversary!  A memorable day for us... we'll have time to celebrate when we beat this thing...

We made it to the hospital in under an hour today. but it seemed like we kept taking one step forward and two steps back.  Dr. Michael Koontz took T through the discovery process.  Scolded again.  We should have called when T had the first bout of the chills... it's just that he's done that for years so, neither one of us thought to call.  So, the bad news is that T has pneumonia.  His white cell count is up to 20... not good....He had so many labs done today for all kinds of reasons and he was down.. T's now on two different mega doses of antibiotics which are really tough on the tummy so, they must be taken with food.  8 hours later we left Stanford's Cancer Center... Tracy had been poked, prodded, hydrated and warned that if the blood test came back positive (results in 24-48 hours) he'd have to be re-admitted.  So, finally we made it home by 7 PM.  Kombucha tea, chicken broth with rice and my T was asleep at last.  Lucky for us, Lila offered to make our stuffing for tomorrow cause I'm too tired to tackle it... tomorrow is another day!

Sunday, November 21st

What a storm!!!!  Poor Riley couldn't have snuggled any closer.  rolling thunder and lightning.. amazing that we never lost power!  I learned that my Sunnyvale trip wouldn't be happening and that was a good thing since mid-day brought sheets of rain and hail too...  I kept thinking about canceling my open house but since it was advertised, I went ahead & was totally soaked putting out the signs... and lo and behold, there was a steady stream of visitors & neighbors all afternoon.  The sun even came out as I met my clients to show them a Seacliff craftsman beauty...  


I had been checking on T all afternoon as I checked on the niners score... apparently the niners never showed up...  T was hanging in his slug station.. Gatorade, newspaper, TV remote, non-stop football, wrapped in Mom's handmade crocheted throw and Riley right by his side.  


T was not feeling great when I arrived home so, Kombucha green tea and some chicken broth and rice at least helped a little.  We may call the gastroenterologist in the morning... we'll see how he does.  


More paperwork and at long last sleep for the weary....  tomorrow is truly a new day!

Saturday, November 20th

Today started out slow and easy...  I had nothing on my plate other than taking care of my honey and checking ongoing business until everything got complicated... the answer on the Corralitos home was delayed until Mon. evening;  the bid for work needed some added information; my listing was going to require a trip to S'vale on Sun. and Sarah & Jeff wanted to see 2 more coast homes on Sun.  So, Sunday will be a very complex day!


During all of this craziness,  Tracy was having a very bad day... just the smell of the eggs made him ill at lunch and it took tremendous coaxing for him to eat pastina in broth and tea this evening... so far so good... but it looks like an early night for us both...


Please keep us in your prayers!!!

Friday, November 19th

Friday started with a 9:00 meeting with my friend/client Lila and Willis Bailey, the contractor going over what needed to be bid for the home in escrow.  We had lost 10 days waiting for the original contractor’s bid.  Lots of phone calls later ...the good news is we have the bid and depending on negotiations, this 1031 exchange will close by 11/29th to preserve Lila’s mortgage rate lock.  Then, off to see Michael for my monthly update.... my caring stylist informed me that I’m losing my hair.... no stress here...

Meanwhile Tracy was still having stomach problems but insisted no appt with a gastroenterologist just yet.  T seems worse in some ways because food doesn’t appeal and he has a constant tummy ache.  Reality:  it’s only been since Wed. that we’ve restricted his dairy intake so, I imagine it will take a few days.

Soup for dinner and T and I managed to watch a funny movie and after our shower were in bed very early...

Catching up Wed. & Thurs. November 17th & 18th

“Life is just a bowl of obbleyocky with a stuffamoygin on the side”... Cenz used to repeat that a lot... 

We jammed packed Wednesday ... starting with fighting traffic all the way to Stanford (a 3 car accident on Hiway 1 & a 4 car on 85) turning an hour trip into two.  T had his labs and then, we went to see Bruno et al.  Dr. Vidal (gorgeous, jovial, fun loving smile, beautifully bald, light brown, medium height man) quizzed us on T’s progress and he was concerned over T’s distended stomach and swollen ankles as he admired T’s beret.  So, we related all the stuff of the last week as I asked what his white cell count was... I think I froze cause all of a sudden, I heard what sounded like 9 and I asked that he repeat what he’d said.  9!!!!!  Normal is 4-11; so imagine our shock!  We continued answering questions a little bit giddy... tired, spacey and happy but neither one of us asked much... then, Bruno arrived as always confident, suave and very cute... that’s when we heard REMISSION!!!!  OMG!!!  I think I went into full on deer in headlights mode... I heard what Bruno was saying but I forgot what to ask...Bruno was perturbed because altho’ we’d gotten the results he’d wanted; we had complicated the mission.  T had been eating dairy which was irritating his bowels and stomach. That would have to  delay the start of treatment until next Wed..  Bruno kept repeating, “It’s dietary!!!” & he probably wanted to add... you morons!!!

TRACY’S BONE MARROW IS CLEAR!!!!  HE IS IN REMISSION!!!

Timing is everything and T needs to stop all dairy intake to ward off the ill effects so, that the treatment can start... What is the treatment?  I haven’t a clue but we’re gonna find out next Wed.

So, with Bruno’s admonitions to stop eating any butter, cream cheese, cheese... anything from a cow... he encouraged Tracy to celebrate with meat, chicken, pasta etc... even a glass of wine (as Bruno said...” there’s no dairy in it” )... be careful around people... yes visitors.. no ill or exposed to illness visitors and a few at a time...

We walked out of the clinic... a little dazed and T went for an X-ray of his stomach.  Then we strolled over to the cafeteria and picked up some grilled chicken burgers, a root beer and ate while we listened to a wonderful Brazilian jazzy samba combo in the atrium.  

Off to Sunnyvale to check on my new listing and then, we fought the traffic coming home to our blessed oasis by the sea.

We were both exhausted... T was able to take a nap... I was over tired and couldn’t so, I sat with our drawerful of EOB’s (explanation of benefits) and bills and matched them all up.... Blue Shield at it’s best.... until T awoke a bit crabby and I blew cooking our dinner.  For the first time in perhaps 30 years, I undercooked the linguine and made a tasteless dish out of T’s comfort food... T was cranky and said “couldn’t you get it right?” and I replied that I was human and that was it for the night. I made sure he got a shower and his meds, but I was hurt and never said another word... After a mostly sleepless night for me, he apologized.  

Thurs. was another jammed packed day... I had my pearly whites cleaned first thing and proceeded to the office to process disclosures etc. and kill a few more trees (computers were ‘sposed to make us paperless... yah right!).  Then, Vicki and I tooled through the rest of our broker’s tour... we stopped at our favorite westside nursery during the lunch break just to see and smell some beautiful flowers and things.... and it made for an interesting mix of new listings and quite a day.  I finally went home after a couple more hours of paperwork and made dinner for my honey... grilled pork chops wrapped in bacon, couscous and yams  and made it a very early evening... I was in bed and asleep by 9:30 and ready for some wonderful dreams....