DAY 15: Shedding like a cat... and thank you...

After Candace and I cross-towned to Emory at 2pm today only to learn there was a scheduling SNAFU on account of the Clinic and we'd be unable meet with an RN, we stuck around to have blood drawn and then headed out a few hours later.

The side effects du jour for me are persistent and unabated bloody noses (the steriod wears down the nasal lining), mucositis (ulceration of the digestive tract which feels like a reflux del diablo), and dizzines that just won't seem to abate. Overall, I think I am doing pretty darn well!

Courtesy a little divine timing, we just learned from Dr. Flowers via phone that my WBC has rebounded from 0.4 on Thursday to 9.8 today! Yee-haw! While my hemoglobin and platelets are still on the low end of average, they are not low enough to warrant a transfusion tomorrow. I am so happy to hear this!

I want to take pause to issue a well-deserved 'thank-you' for the many acts of kindness and gestures of support I've witnessed over the past several weeks since the fun began. Within days of being diagnosed, some dear friends of ours solicited interest among our community to gather a very creative collection of gifts that I will call "Open when you..."

Each of the gifts or cards came with a unique prerequisite, marking a milestone in the process that was notable for one reason or another: "Open when you start losing your hair", "Open when you feel too tired to exercise", "Open when you first miss work", "Open when you regain your appetitie", were just a few.

I've received some great hats (my hair started to fall out TODAY!), some gift cards to our favorite food spots, some great games and knick-knacks... as well as some thoughtful and kind words of encouragement. I am so very grateful for each and every one of these acts of love.

People have selflessly brought us homemade and take-out meals, vats of gatorade, Starbucks for Candace each morning, books, games, letters, cancer-mocking apparel, and have also just come by to be physically present for support.

What a great manifestation this is of the corporate, collective body of a community coming together as a whole to support a need within itself. While many of your have offered to help out and have yet to be able to do so directly-- rest assured that your time can and will come! I will surely lean on you when the road starts to get long and windy.

And for all of you who wanted a squishy teddy-bear to cuddle with tonight, I am attaching a rogue shot of the Emory Clinic MC, 'Grady', who was in full form today. Apologies for the low-resolution shot, but I think the effect comes across nonetheless.