Pomp is the circumstance

This week has been a busy week for us. Tuesday was our FULL DAY MDA Experience. The running joke there is Make it a DAY! Even for one appointment it can seem that way.

Early Start

Back in January, Michele had a really bad Pneumonia. The kind that scares everyone. Including the Doctors. First stop of the day was the second floor blood lab (Elevator A).

Construction at MDA is starting to be a consistent as the painting of the Golden Gate Bridge… Non-Stop. We were just getting used to the detours of the last 6 months. The biggest new change is which floor you arrive on from parking garage 10. You know you have a rhythm when you can tiredly get on the elevators and arrive at the right floors.

This week, we got to enter on the 4th floor. Usually this is reserved for the staff. The change of scenery is always interesting. There is a patient library on that floor that most may never know about.

Thankfully… the lab on the first floor was super easy to get to with the old detours removed.

Blood taken and on to the next stop.

Floor 9 – Infectious Disease

There are still a few places that I have not been with Michele. The couple of times that she has seen this doctor, I have not been with her. Michele definitely remembered.

The Doctor on the other hand was very familiar. There are faces here that cannot be forgotten. As they have had such a major impact. Dr. Mulanovich is one of them. All is well with Michele and as long as her Immune system stays in a good shape. This is the biggest battle that we have moving forward. is keeping her numbers in a good place. The plan remains to check in every six months and raise the alarm if she feels it coming back on.

What time is it?

The fun always happens when you try to go to appointments early. Despite trying to get ahead of the game with Dr. Issa, the ATC was super busy. While we were done with the Doctor and cleared for Chemo by 1:30, our appointment wasn’t until 5:00.

We tried the “please squeeze us in” and stayed for a couple of hours sitting in “The Chairs” of MDA. After checking in one more time around 3:00, we decided to go to the hotel to check in and then return back sometime around or after 5:00.

Hotel?

There was a meeting planned for the Wednesday with our Insurance Marketing Organization. It is always good to see our friends from around the country that were going to be in town. We felt it would be best to stay the night at that hotel Tuesday so we were not zig zagging to the opposite side of town. We thought that maybe we could get a little pool time if there was a big enough gap.

So we packed up from MDA and headed to the hotel. As soon as we parked. Guess what? We got a call from the ATC that they were ready for us… GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

We grabbed our bags and brought them to the room. We at least wanted to see what we were missing! Excellently, we got a corner room looking west on a high floor. We dropped our bags off and headed back down to the car.

ATC and Chemo

We are back on the POMP Maintenance Cycle protocol. A light dose of Vincristine some really fun chemo and steroid pills. While Chemo is only “15 Minutes”, be sure that it is a minimum of 2 hours when you get back into the room with all the prep, monitoring, and flushing that needs to happen. Michele is always great at chatting up the nurses. I was more grumpy Mike with my headphones on and Netflix to take my mind off that fact we were there so long. We arrived at 7am that day and it was not 5:45.

Overall the chemo was uneventful. EXCEPT… The nurse started tell Michele why she was so cautious with how she stuck her for the IV. Evidently this particular medicine can have devastating effects on the body if it is not done properly.

One of Michele’s acquired abilities now is that she can quote all the negative side effects (including death) of every drug she is taking.

Thankfully… it was all good.

We arrived to the hotel around 8:15. In time to see a beautiful sunset. And we were both out by 9:15.

The next day.

The day after a long day is always tough. She was not feeling fully well. She decided it was best to hang back from the meeting. I was able to go down and shake hands, hug, and enjoy the time with our old friends. Something familiar is always a good place to be.

Before we checked out and headed back home to continue recovering from the previous day, we took some time for Michele to enjoy the meeting and friends. These have been so integral to our success and motivation over the last 15+ years. Our stamina for the long days is certainly challenged. We managed to make it home and get some work done before hitting the hay by 7:00 PM.

A couple of other updates

Continued prayers for our friend Wes that is having his own cancer battle. Somedays you do not get the news you want. What I have found is that Cancer creates warriors. His battle continues as does his will to beat it. We love you my friend!

Our neighbor Aaron McGuire has officially retired from an incredible career in the chemical plants here in Houston. For the young man, it is exceptional money with incredible companies. For the older man, well…. sometimes you just have to say goodbye!

Today we will celebrate the end of that part of his life and the beginning of the next part. He has already told me that sending him Jobs for Retires is a bit too soon. I know he is looking forward to no more shifts and long hours at work. Keep him, the family, and neighbors in your prayers. We are really not too sure what to do with him now. 😎

Continue on living!

Good friends turned us on to Ted Lasso recently. The eternal optimist that despite some extraordinary challenges has an infectious outlook on life. Sometimes we can only control 1% of the things happening in our world and well if you are going to have an outlook on that 1% then I suggest being a Ted. If you have not seen the show. Get going on it and get ready to laugh. So many cultural references from our youth delivered with Dad Joke accuracy.

“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”

-Ted Lasso