Two house calls on a single day!

Imagine that. Joe Kelley MD and Peter Tanzer MD came to the house to see MJ yesterday.... a reflection of how beloved she is by her doctors as well as family and friends. We're treating for pneumonia again, but this time, we're doing it at home. The last 36 hours have been rough, but things have settled down now that we've started IV antibiotics.

Still waiting for the chemo to do it's thing....

Chemo #3

Chemo #3 today. This is the first we've been able to manage at the prescribed interval...2 weeks after the last.

Law school chum Laurie Lyons is in town for a week, and will act as chemo buddy today. Laurie arrived yesterday and will stay until Saturday. We spent yesterday afternoon looking at photos that Laurie brought. Mostly the law school years in California...some I had never seen before. Very cool. What a BEAUTY....I married very well!

Thanks to all for the hobby suggestions. Speaking of hobbies, we just finished work on the MJ quilt. The quilt was spearheaded by Nan Elligator and Kristin Tsapis...and we all chipped in. Some of us learning how to sew for the first time ever (not mentioning any names). The quilt is composed of felted squares cut from wool sweaters (mostly sweaters past their prime, but maybe a couple of current ones too). Take a look:

Not bad eh?

Eager to see what this week is like after the chemo. We'll keep you posted.

Worlds Greatest Sister

Hey – not sure I am in the right place. Just Googled “World’s Greatest Sister” and this name appeared. Is that you MJ?  And about this “greatest sister tag, is that a sponsored ad?

My memories of this greatest sister think are mixed. “Mom, Dad, Joey hit me again” comes to mind, and as I was being punished I can remember how bad you felt for getting me in trouble, showing the sad smile that you fought to suppress…except when Mom was not looking.

Do others know your “dark side” after high school when you professed to be a right wing conservative republican catholic. Then life changed when you found Bruce. Yes, Born to Run Bruce, the Liberal Democratic Jewish kid from the neighboring state, the friend and confidant of a young Chris Christi. I still remember stories of those 2 trying to get to a gig in NYC…the traffic on the bridge was a mess! Whodda thunk?

So, my trans-formative sister….I did try to dig deep and see if I could come up with a few positive influences you might have had on your family growing up. And I did remember one. You are always there. For me after High school when I needed a place to stay in Hartford, you opened your door. For Mom and Dad, as they aged and needed someone to support them mentally and physically, you were there. And any and all challenges any of us went through, your strong support, engagement, positive outlook and actions made everything easier….regardless of what you had going on.Those days are not forgotten.

So there are a few of us that are very proud of you, likely limited to your friends, family, and anyone that has come to know you. Love you and we are always thinking of you.

Gotta run. See you around the neighborhood. Off to Google “Worlds Meanest Sister’, will let you know what comes up!

The Hobby Hunt

This morning I was visiting with my dear Sister, MJ and realized that there is something that is currently lacking in her life.  She needs to find herself a good hobby.  So I am issuing a challenge to all of those reading this blog.
Here is where this is coming from.  We were talking today about how she has periods of boredom in which she can become anxious because she feels that in this boredom she is not moving in any direction.  These periods can come in 15 to 30 minute intervals or longer.  It can sometimes be hard to concentrate on reading or listening to a book, so I was thinking of some kind of active activity.  I was throwing out ideas fast and furious, only to be thwarted at every turn with either an outright no, or a face with immediately let me know the idea was not well received.  These are some of the ideas that I tried and failed with:
Knitting
Crosswords
Suduko
Ken Ken
Jigsaw Puzzles
Painting
Making Pottery
Building Models
Learning a Language
Playing the Tuba

So my Challenge to all of you is to submit your ideas for MJ's new hobby.  Should she actually take up any of your suggestions you will win my gratitude and a star to go on your refrigerator.

On a little more serious side, my dear friend Nina sent me a link the other day, and I would offer this to any of the readers of this blog for whom it might be appropriate as there are those of many faiths reading this.  Yesterday (7 Jan) began a 9 day Novena for St Peregrine "The Cancer Saint".  The novena can be found at the following link:   http://www.praymorenovenas.com/st-peregrine-novena/
It only takes a few minutes to say and I am sure we can be forgiven for starting a day or 2 late and catching up.  As I said, I am doing this and invite any of you to join me over the next week.

Lastly there was something posted on one of the sites I was looking at for St Peregrine which I believe has exemplified how this battle has been fought by my incredibly strong, brave and loving Sister.  Obviously this is from a Christian site, but I think you all can get the idea of what I am referring to.

Cancer
is limited
~
It cannot
cripple love,
It cannot
shatter hope,
It cannot
corrode faith,
It cannot
eat away peace,
It cannot
destroy confidence,
It cannot
shut out memories
It cannot
silence courage,
It cannot
invade the soul,
It cannot
reduce eternal life,
It cannot
quench the spirit,
It cannot
lessen the power of the Resurrection.

More Waiting...

Still waiting to see if the Gemcitabine is working....some good periods punctuated by not-so-good periods.

My sister Betsy was supposed to leave today, but has extended her stay by a day due to the frigid weather.

MJ remains unable to accept visitors or do much in the way of email. We are enjoying Treme on TV, and enjoying close family time together. We'll keep you posted.

Feeling Better

feeling better

Day 3 after chemo #2...and feeling better. This has been a tough week, so a number of phone calls and e-mails went unanswered. Today, however, things are on the upswing. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Thanks much.

Waiting

waiting...

Monday's chemo went smoothly....so now it's just waiting to see it work.

Family visits from Jonathan's sisters Pola and Betsy. Pola left on Sunday, and Betsy arrived yesterday (Wednesday the 1st). Thanks to Pola for a wonderful visit and for being such an amazing help.

More to come....