Category Archives: family

Jury Duty?

Holly Doyne Posted on by 4

really?

In the middle of everything, the computers of Alameda County grind on. Unsupervised, or just automated, the printer is spewing out Jury Duty summons. I received one last month, but the courts shut down before my report date. George received his summons on Monday. As I remember correctly, he was in the hospital last fall when his number came up. He called them and explained that 1) bone marrow transplant in hospital 2) house bound for a minimum of 100 days afterwards 3) recommendations for avoidance of extremely close quarters for at least six months. No problems, they would take him off the list permanently for medical.

And another summons shows up.

Perhaps they are leaning forward and hoping that the courts will be back open next month. Not. Going. To. Happen. The best modeling predicts things are going to be extremely ugly right about then. And, in any case, there is no way that he should take that kind of risk. Not unless the judicial system can go to Zoom courts…

Think about it – Anything that doesn’t require physically passing something around could be done by Zoom/GoToMeeting or one of the other softwares that link people in video conferencing. Certainly the courts could easily blow through all of the traffic tickets that way without requiring personal appearances. Effective use of both court and law enforcement time. For that matter, it would mean that people would not have to waste an entire day sitting on a bench just in case their number comes up.

Right to a trial by your peers? Ok. Where does it say that those peers have to be in the same room with you? Where does it say that you have the right to reach out and touch someone? If we can manage to support thousands of people through tele-medicine, why can’t we think ahead and set up tele-courts?

And before anyone goes down the rabbit hole about advantages to the wealthy and disadvantage to those of age, color, or poverty – exactly who do we think is tying up the court system (outside of family court) right now? It isn’t grandma on her old age pension, it is the dude with money. It is the larger landlords who have the money to evict their tenants, it is the insurance companies that would rather fight than pay claims.

But anyway…I am thinking of the waste of computer time, paper, ink, postal services for something that can’t happen next month. And this just may be symptomatic of all those automatic systems in place. The ones that let us do dumb things more quickly….

Meanwhile, “the paper” grinds slowly on. Miriam continues to build webpages as part of her “work remotely,” Shana is being the demo model for the local BAR Method’s move to Zoom Classes. Noah is on his way back to San Diego as he has lab classes when the quarter resumes next week. Angel is hard at work – more than half the staff where he works are now either out or gone and people want bagels, Alex is putting together some on-line activities for groups of JCC kids now locked down at home, Dani’s work is shut down – so she is hunting for on-line employment.

As the numbers today went over ½ a million that have tested positive, the curve is slowing only in a few locations. The US has passed Italy for total number of cases. Both Italy and Switzerland are reporting over 1000 cases per million inhabitants; and not everyone who is ill is getting tested. I think that is lot more realistic. California is still lagging hugely in testing, Ignorance doesn’t help; in my area it leads to complacencies.

The new office

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Those that think working from home is easy, convenient, problem free are only thinking about access to the coffee pot and the bathroom. Most of us are not set up to easily work efficiently at home. Not to same extent as an office. Especially if you are one of those high and mighty people with a door that shuts.

For Example:

we have George’s space in the dining area. The desk mostly used as a receptacle for whatever needs organizing and a comfortable chair at the table with better (and safer) access to drinking coffee

the dining room office

I suppose I can detour here to provide an explanation of the blank walls. When Shana and Noah moved to the US and oversaw the renovations of the house starting with fall of 2014 (good grief, time flies) this room was painted dark red if I remember correctly. They went with pretty close to white. Then a couple of years later, we had the windows replaced from the original 1930s to something that was both energy efficient and had screens. Anyone who tells you that there are no high (or low) flying insects in California is just wrong. About a year or two ago, I purchased the corner unit, along with desk and chair for George and moved the over large table out to the living room.

the living room office

When you have somewhere between four and eight people for a meal, it is nice to have a larger table. This table, complete with chairs, seats 10 without fuss. Fine, it was purchased in Germany and shipped with our household goods in 2014. For the time it lived in the dining room, mashed up against the wall as otherwise there was no room to move (someone had not accurately assessed the available space). I, personally am not a fan of long distances between kitchen and tables. But this opinion was over-ridden by reality.

And it also has become Miriam’s and my working space/office. Lots of airy space, great day lighting. Easy access to coffee and the kettle. We can even turn on the fireplace for a bit of extra heat. But I can see my stitching chair and my needlework frame is calling me.

A short but serious discussion

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For those of you who are news junkies – you already know that todays total of cases was approaching 300,000+ and a death toll close to 12000 as of 1500GMT. Yes, from now on, I will use GMT. It is just easier and I know that everyone  will convert to their own time zone (well, except for Mary, Anita, and Beverly who are ON GMT). In most countries, we have not yet hit epidemic peaks, much less transitioned into a more easily monitored recovery phase.

I am ashamed to admit there are still those in the US so tied up in politics and conspiracy theories that they are doubting the epidemic is real. As the old saying goes:

You can’t regulate common sense

and you can’t cure stupid.

I am not sure what leaves individuals so secure in their own little bubble that they totally ignore health, safety, responsibility, and a reasonable duty to others.

and – for common sense and clear explanation of basics – I direct you to Pat’s most recent post

So what is my serious discussion?

Personal affairs. Now, if you are over a certain magic age which I will, for the short term peg at retirement, you have probably at one time or another done things like catalog property, make a will, and think about who is responsible for what – should you become incapable of managing your affairs. But maybe not. Or perhaps you haven’t relooked at the paperwork for a number of years.

Folks, it is time to revisit and revise. It isn’t just the major bits: physical property such as real estate and vehicles, bank accounts, retirement accounts, off-site storage, bank boxes, recurring bills…..It is the little things as well: pets, treasures and that all important “STUFF.” For all of us with crafts or hobbies, exactly what do you want to happen to your stash?

Over the last several years, when talking to various seniors (senior? no, not me in this instance), I have heard repeatedly “my family/daughter/children/spouse” will take care of things.Think about it–is that really fair? To not leave any instructions? To potentially set up conflict? To dumb an unholy mess on those who already have enough on their plates with grief?

California law is relatively easy: several years ago, George and I set up a living family trust and transferred just about everything into it, excepting our USAA accounts (Texas is its own little world). Since we are nowhere near the eight digit limit of value, this completely avoids probate. Both a legally good and cost saving measure. We also executed living wills and medical power of attorneys.

George has tons of books and vinyl. I have stash, in the form of fabric, fiber, and all the assorted supplies that go along with sewing, quilting, knitting, spinning, cross-stitch etc. Do we care what happens to any of it? Well, actually yes. The relevant historical books will go to the Magnus Museum. Several years ago, I donated a loom and a large number of weaving supplies to a lovely woman who teaches weaving in an improvised Mexican area (where she grew up). But the rest of it? Do I care? Hummmm… Certainly we are extremely limited on family heirlooms, antiques or collectables. And, it seems like “stuff” counts more than anything that could be even remotely considered valuable.

Take the time you have now been gifted to get your personal affairs organized. If you care who gets your “stuff” at least do the courtesy of making a list. It might not be legally binding but it should help. This is not the time to nourish those festering arguments that have been going on for years; forgive, even if you can’t forget.

What you don’t want is the comment said by many after the World Trade Center destruction in 2001 – “I never got a chance to say “I love you.” “I never got a chance to say goodbye.”

What is that NOISE?

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Miriam and I are sitting at the large table ensconced at our computers. She is obviously working at home. I am, almost as obviously, not particularly working. There is an incredibly loud screech which repeats. Yes, we have redwoods and other trees around us, home to squirrels and the occasional birds nest. But nothing that sounds like that. What is more, it seems to be coming from inside the living room.

All is quiet for about five minutes, then a few repeats.

Oh, (blinding flash of the obvious), yes. I have a tab on my browser open to this particular YouTube channel.

My plan for today is simple – a few more pages on my paper, some stitching, welcoming Noah home (his flight from San Diego which left at 0715 this morning) had only 18 passengers. I don’t think SouthWest really had to enforce boarding order. Every one had several rows to themselves. If I am really ambitious I will finish clearing off our large table. With this many people in the house + the Eldest who lives close + College Guy, it is reasonable to use a table that easily seats eight.

Corona Virus

While many people are banding together, supporting their neighbors and using social media responsibly, there are plenty who aren’t. Which means all of us need to be quiet, but firm. This is NOT a hoax. The disease, with reasonable infectivity (no where near that of measles) is spreading rapidly. If the distancing measures put in place have the intended effect, we will not see it for 14-28 days (two incubation periods). Most people become ill sooner than 14 days, but there is a range.

There are more sources of bad information and rumors than there are accurate. One of the challenges in the rush to share data in the medical community is that the whole peer-review process is being skipped. What this means for all of us is the following:

1) the authors are doing their best to provide what they know in an effort to help educate and further care and treatment of COVID-19 patients

2) no one has checked to see if the methodology (patient selection, lab reporting, etc) used in the “study” meets scientific method, valid analysis or even common sense. This process weeds out a lot of marginal information that does not prove to be valid on a second go.

3) the general press is hungry for anything they can find and report. So a study that may/may nat provide information that is medically valid gets picked up and circulated widely by and to people who have no idea of what really underlies the report.

Example – YOUNG PEOPLE AT RISK FROM CORONA VIRUS!!! the xxxx report (and unfortunately, CDC is partly to blame for this mess) says that XX% of ICU patients are young adults!

Somewhere down in the report, if you read the report and not just the headline and first three paragraphs, you will find that the age grouping for “young” is 20-50 in one report and 20-64 in another.

Hello? I do not consider those in their 30s, 40s, 50s as young adults. They are adult. Period. Normally a young adult is someone in that transition period from secondary school through University to first job. Maybe 18-23/25. I checked this with Miriam who is waiting for a conference call to start. She gave me the above number. I gave her back the age range actually used in the paper. When she was done chocking, her response was – anything about that is AN ADULT.

Perhaps the intention of the wording was to engage the Florida spring break crew – but that is not the job of the scientific community. Our job is to clearly and accurately present the facts as we know them. Grouping individuals into age bands is common. But grouping 30 + years is deceiving. Yes, the numbers are so low as to be not useful for the under 50 (especially if you eliminate the health care providers), but that doesn’t excuse poor analysis and worse writing.

The World diagnosed numbers exceeded 258,800+ by 1600 (GMT) and deaths are now over 10k world wide. This is still fewer than the US alone has had die from Influenza this year. There might be an island out there that is unaffected, but complete disease sparing of anywhere is becoming less and less likely. Even the “ocean floating boat community” which considers itself exempt from most societal constraints is not going to be able to dodge this one – everyone has to dock for supplies sooner or later.

Extra vitamins, anti-malaria drugs, dietary supplements, herbal remedies are not going to magically protect you. Taking care of yourself, avoiding crowds and those that are coughing/ill, and washing your hands are all proven to decrease your chances of disease.

Off-soap box for now!

Meet Kitty Ramon

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Rather than provide you with another day of doom and gloom (I think all the major news outlets, TV stations, and talking heads are doing more than a complete job of that) I will divert to one of the new residents of our house.

Arriving in December along with Miriam and Angel when they moved here from New York over the winter holidays, Kitty wasn’t a completely happy cat. After being forced to diet for weeks – who knew that the airlines both had and enforced a weight limit on under seat animal carriers of 20# (around 9 kilos) – Kitty has settled into a reasonable routine.

During the day he sleeps a lot, in the evenings he prowls. On a schedule known only to him, he nags for food, pokes his head in corners, and vary studiously avoids doing those things which will get him in trouble – at least while someone is watching. After several months, I am more than used to him stalking around the living room in the evening, occasionally complaining, or watching the squirrel channel through the back living room door.

Then George decided a treat was in store and a package arrived via DHL – full of various Haribo candies. As an aside – I think he ordered on line in an attempt to get the German versions of the candies rather than the US market version. A number of products are like that, most noticeable Nutella which has a different formulation (related to oils used) in North America than Europe.  In any case, there was marked interest in various gummis. Being good, and liking my teeth In my head, I declined. Forgetting about candy, I settled into my chair to listen to an audiobook and stitch.

But there was this funny crinkling sound. Looking up –

I am invisible, you do not see me

said cat was sitting on the end table. Like most cats, he likes things that crinkle. Ok, he isn’t allowed on the end table, but I was thinking this was actually pretty funny. Cat finding the only thing in the room that could make interesting noises. You can see several bags of candy sitting on the table next to him. After carefully considering his choices, he picked up a bag and headed toward the stairs.

I sent the picture to the family on WhatsApp. Next thing I know, Miriam is flying down the stairs and takes the ill-gotten goods away from the thief. Turns out Kitty adores Gummi Bears. As in rips into the bag and eats them.

Seriously.

And of course he gets sick.

 

Shelter in Place – Day 2

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To sum up this day –

Corona Virus-

The Chinese are now seeing more imported cases than local transmission… which means vigilance but not hysteria.
The Germans & French are having increasing numbers of cases (exactly as one would predict based on transmission curves. The numbers, I think, also accurately reflect an extensive amount of testing.
The Italians are in a world of hurt. Not only are they out of hospital beds, intensive care facilities, but illness is now breaking out in health care workers. The two main tracking sites –

Worldmeter site – by country breakdown

and Johns Hopkins University – if you really like maps rather than tables

no longer have updates from Italy.

The world total will be over 230k by the time you read this. The US is now over 10k in cases. This is probably a gross underestimate – you can get tested if 1) you know someone 2) you are a celebrity 3) you are “important” politically. Believe it or not – there have been challenges for ill health care worker getting tested.

The same idiots are proposing to activate the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort. No surprise, it would be at least a month; non-active ships are non-active ships. Secondly – exactly where are those health care workers coming from? The answer, of course is Navy military facilities in DC, VA, CA which are currently supporting active duty, families, and some limited numbers of retirees. It is not like the local community is going to have any capacity to absorb these patient populations.

[edited to correct ship names on 20 March, thanks to Steve, my upstate NY navy buddy who also notes that “Mercy was in the midst of an overhaul, and I think Comfort is too.  They are owned by the Navy, staffed with Civilians, and a combo of medical personal.”]

Ignore any SPAM you get which promises a cure, a medication, or supplements, vitamins or any other “sure fire way” to cure your ills. Snake oil is snake oil.

The same way – all the surfaces tests have documented that viral PARTICLES can be found for hours afterwards. Infectivity hasn’t been proven. If we test any surface, we can find virus and bacteria. So be smart, take your shoes off at the door, wear sensible clothing, keep your fingers out of your month. But don’t wash your books, hug strangers or cough on people.

Family & Friends

Thank you to everyone who has checked in. It is good to know that people are ok, keeping themselves entertained (all of us old folks are hunkered down, while the younger generation is busy taking care. of themselves, their families and the community around them). So far I have heard from France, Germany, the UK, Canada, Australia, with further reassurance about family members in far flung regions (Korea, Indonesia, Central and South America). We are a small world, thanks to electronic communications.

UCBerkeley has moved all courses on-line that it can. Some courses (science labs, theater, art, music) just don’t lend themselves as well.  We are still waiting to hear what UCSan Diego is going to do at the quarter start. Since Noah has both physics and engineering classes – completely on-line just isn’t a possibility.

For those of you who enjoy classical music – this data base covers a wide range of free streaming options from chamber orchestra to opera to full up symphony.

I wrote a whole page on my paper – then spent the rest of the day on various cross stitch projects. I am now 20k/76K completed on Farewell to Anger

20k stitches complete – 18 March 2020

the several Stitch A Longs (aka SALs) are caught up and I should not start anything new….

 

 

Another Rose

Holly Doyne Posted on by 3

It was a few years after WWII, but the industrial area in Richmond where the major shipyards were located gradually started undergoing a transformation. As the post-war period no longer needed ships, other manufacturing took over for a while. And then, for years, the area went to seed. Undergoing a renaissance in the last decade, there is now a ferry terminal for those San Francisco bound with that rare offer of FREE parking. Columbia has taken over a major portion of one of the old buildings and runs a significant operation including their “employees warehouse/discount” store. To which others (trust me) can receive an invitation. About 2 years ago, they extended the courtesy to all with a military ID, including retirees. With prices running 40-60% of retail on Columbia, Mountain Hardware, and now Praha – if you need one of their products, it is worth the drive. This area is also now home to the Rosie The Riveter Museum.

Where was I? Oh, yes, heading into Craneway Pavillion – which was hosting this year’s holiday craft market. This is not your ladies auxiliary market. There are no hand crocheted toilet box covers, nor did I spot anything even remotely plastic or disposable. But if someone is shopping for artisan wares – this would be the place to go.

We spent a couple of hours wandering through about 200 vendors. There was nothing I needed, and surprisingly little that I wanted.

This followed me home (purchased by Dani since she remembered that once upon a time….)

coffee mug

. This mug was made by another Rose with a studio in Oakland. The cat was because, when first starting out, she shared a house with a fluctuating number of others, usually about 10. And, there was a cat in about every room. I gave her the “clowder of cats” but forgot the alternative (a glaring of cats) when I had stopped by her display earlier to admire the bowls. She said that the two siamese were the only ones which were distinctive out of that “bunch of cats.” It was a number of years before she headed out on her own, catless, but still uses the image.

From there, it was off to coffee and back to the house. It has been a quiet evening.

I wish you all joy and freedom.

First Night

A late celebration

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

Her birthday actually was Wednesday. Dani works at a location which does a huge amount of business over the December holidays. Which meant long days at the warehouse. She was returning home so exhausted that getting time with her dogs and the occasional meal was a real stretch. By her request, we put off her birthday dinner till tonight.

Our family tradition has been to go out for dinner to the restaurant of the birthday person’s choice. Given that we lived in Europe for decades, some of the more horrible, child friendly US locations were never an option. This year, with George still in that 100 day home restriction post stem cell transplant, I ordered in. After careful perusal of the menu, I found something that was reasonably safe to order for him (yes, take-away is also on the banned list. Unfortunately,  most packed with preservatives is completely safe, so is cooking at home, but not leftovers).

Her choice was Korean from one of the places on Solano Avenue (Bowl’d). I hadn’t eaten then, but am quite likely to do that in the future.

It is hard to figure out what to give adult children; an Amazon gift card just seems so impersonal. At the same time, it let her pick what she wanted. And she did. Noah and I also make a bookstore and paper store run so she had some presents to open (books are always good, and magazines, and coloring books). I actually think that the Bob’s Burgers Cookbook and the Dark Crystal (Jim Henson’s Muppet original) color book were her favorites.

We ate an overwhelming amount of food and still had enough left overs for meals tomorrow. I didn’t take pictures or bake a cake. Instead, I selected a number of individual tortes at Masse’s Pasteries. [And no, I have no clue as to why my browser gave me some kind of security warning. I have been gettin a lot of those lately, none of which have been valid.]

On the fiber side, I decided against knitting a third “Cal Colors” hat and started turning the yarn into a narrow scarf while watching a heart-breaking loss of the Cal Women’s Basketball team. I think they are still working through the changes that have come with a new coach as well as not always having the skills to deal with a really aggressive opponent that barely skirted the boundaries of good-sportsmanship play.

The Case of the Empty Cookie Jar is finished. It still needs to be washed, pressed, and framed. Since it is one of a set, I may delay the finishing until the second one is done so that they match.

Since my choices were clean, organize, sort–you get the idea–or find a short project, I started a Thea Gouverneur sampler featuring the essential food group of chocolate. I had purchased it Amazon and have the matching 2 – Coffee and Tea on order.
 

Hair Length

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There was, what I charitably will presume was a well meaning woman about a year ago who made a comment about my shorter hair making me look much younger. I blew it off at the time rather than get into a discussion but there are just so many things wrong with that statement. The first is that I want to look younger than I am. Considering the source (my age with obviously bleach blond hair) such things are quite important to her.

It isn’t to me. Appearing younger is what I can do in my head as long as I don’t look in the mirror. But mirrors lie – after all – everything is reversed so why not sneak in a bit of aging change? Mirror, Mirror on the Wall and all of that. The same reason applies for why I don’t add hair color to cover my grey. I have earned those gray hairs. And, since they have grown back following chemo – every single last one of them is precious to me.

Part of what triggered off this chain of thought was George making the remark this morning that he was finally feeling hair bristling on his head. The chemo that they use for stem cell transplants for some reason has a much more devastating affect on hair follicles than the R-CHOP that was inflicted on me. I had hair starting back within about three weeks after my last dose of chemo and was willing to wander around without a scarf on my head by the time we took our Phoenix cruise to Iceland & Greenland in Aug/Sept of 2017. OTOH, my hair departed my head, covered my pillow and clogged the drain within 10 days of the first course of chemo. It was actually a when George was leaving the hospital–so 4-5 weeks later–when all of his exited stage left.

What the (hopefully) well meaning woman also didn’t get is that I really, really don’t like hair around my face. Not after spending 30 years in uniform where my choices were short or long and pulled back. Short takes a lot of care. Taking the time to get a trim every 3-6 weeks is just nuts, at least for me. For others, it is how they think of themselves. But there is absolutely nothing easier for me than grabbing a scrunchie and I am done. Out of the way, least likely to pull out or damage hair and easy to remove.

Also in the back of my mind is every old, blue haired lady that I ever saw. They had short hair, often permed. I am so not interested in turning into one of them. Accepting the “as you get older your hair should be shorter” idea that society seems to place on aging white women. I am not familiar enough with other cultures to be sure that it is the same. But at least in the SF Asian community, that seems to be the case. At the same time – mixed grey and brown hair straggling around one’s face isn’t terribly attractive either. And yesterday, when I was in the check-out lane at Costco (long, long story) I noticed that on the woman ahead of me in line. And when my first thought was – she is too old to wear her hair that way – I realized, that I too, might well have drunk the koolaide.

Examining one’s attitudes isn’t always that fun. But it might actually result in an improvement in behavior. And it certainly would have kept me from thinking–Old? You, who are bleached blond and wearing too tight clothes designed for someone in their teens is commenting on my appearance?

Two down, one to go

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Yes! I have turned in 2/3 papers that having been hanging over my head since last spring semester.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t do them. Rather it was more a matter of getting some unbroken blocks of time in which to sit down, concentrate, think about what I was trying to accomplish, then generating words in document that met the format of what was required.

I can’t say that it was difficult. Tedious? Unquestionably. Boring? Not really, other than the fact that I obviously have no love for precise US grammar, punctuation, US spellings, or all of that other nonsense that is required when producing documents for official grading. That–and I absolutely LOATH Word (yes, the Microsoft Program). I can deal with Paper (Mac), Open Office, and grew up on Word Perfect. But Word? Nothing intuitive about that program. And trying to permanently get rid of all the tracked changes? Gocod luck with that as they seem to magically re-appear.

I rewarded myself with cross-stitch time since the nice long walk I had planned had to be put on hold due to all of George’s conference calls. By the time he was finally off the phone, it was dark. Since we don’t have enough reflective vests to go around – walking around our area which is lacking in sufficient street lighting is not a really great idea.

19 Nov 2019. 538 today. 4924/24354

Monday update

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It would have been the usual drive into UCSF had not someone decided (planned or otherwise) to have a major accident along our route to the Bay Bridge. Traffic had been at a crawl for more than two hours when, rather than enter the freeway through the car pool entrance from University Avenue I decided to buzz along the frontage road on the bay side. It was better until the entrance at Powell street which was still a crawl.

Once actually  in the HOV access road in the maze approach, everything picked up and we sailed along till the Civic Center exit (where our ride-share passengers wanted to exit to Harrison Street). I didn’t see anything around there, but George says that it is now a good location for new tech start-ups.

The UCSF visit went well! Lab is all good. His platelets continue to creep up and his red cell count is stable (since RBC’s turn over ~ every 120 days, it means that he is making his own). We are due back on Friday, then Monday and perhaps then weekly.

I really should have gotten back at those papers, but instead spent the afternoon stitching.

Yes, I am finding it almost meditative!

18 Nov 2019 – 641 today. 4336/24354

And better

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

We left home right before 0700, stopped at Peet’s for coffee, at NB Bart for a passenger and hit the road for UCSF. We were there, parked, checked in before 0800. Which meant we were out of there (lab draw, visit and all), on the road, and home via Acme Bakery by 1000.

What should be obvious is that everything is going extremely well. Blood count is stable, platelets continue to slowly climb, and George is gradually feeling more energetic.

Otherwise, I am rapidly becoming addicted to cross-stitch once again. Or rather, Ranald Spangler’s Dragonlings. After all, who could resist “The Mystery of the Empty Cookie Jar” by Dragatha Christie? It is only 65 stitches wide – but 373 long so it might take a while (90 colors and few blocks color).

All is well

Holly Doyne Posted on by 13

Seriously, this was the second outpatient visit at which George’s labs values continued to improve and let him avoid any transfusions (yes, Steven, George doesn’t need those platelets you donated on Saturday, but I am sure that there is someone else you are helping keep alive).Platelets are the critical indicator. In all of us “normal” people platelets turn over rapidly. Shelf life in the blood bank is maximum of five days (of which one day is probably lost to processing and another to transport). Packed red blood cells are good for almost 30 days.

But today, as on last Friday, he didn’t need any of that. It makes for a pleasant, much shorter stay and a chance to get back over the Bay Bridge before the traffic really begins to suck.

I headed to UC Berkeley School of Public Health late in the afternoon. The program marked the 35th Anniversary of their Wellness Letter. The nominal fee collected from subscribers has funded scholarships. Meanwhile, Miriam and George took a walk, ending at the Rose Garden just in time to see the sunset.

Worth the wait

Holly Doyne Posted on by 11

I always start the drive to UCSF with both fascination and dread. Fascination for what challenges will be on offer: from insane drivers totally senseless sludging of traffic to the death defying exploits of those totally crazy enough to drive motorcycles between lanes from frustrated individuals with a time limited destination in mind. The dread (not dead as my spell checker keeps wanting to insert) portion of my mental state comes from not knowing what we will find at our destination.

I mentioned that Miriam is in town which makes for a slightly shorter trip (although the stop at Peet’s has the added Chai for her) as we don’t have to stop at the North Berkeley ride share.

Today was well worth the drive and what seems like a forever wait while the lab does it’s fancy tests. No issues, no need for blood transfusion. Even better? It seems like the newly invested stem cells have turned to the task of settling in and are done arguing about who does what, why and where. Platelet production has apparently been deemed as appropriate as an acceptable task. This is the first time since early August  he has escaped without having a platelet transfusion.  A jump from 17 to 34 might not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things. But considering the last time he had any increase was in June…..

Anyway, due to the Poppy wearing holiday being celebrated on Monday, his next visit is scheduled for Tuesday.

I had planned on heading over to UCHastings for a noon time seminar. But then, I had registered on the premise of both blood and platelet transfusions were likely to be in the offering. Instead, I sent mental apologies winging their way to the event organizers as we headed to the freeway and the road home.

Only Platelets

Holly Doyne Posted on by  

It wasn’t a difficult trip into San Francisco this morning. We have Miriam in town which means automatic access to the HOV lane without having to detour to the Ride Share at North Berkeley. I took that time spared and spent it on a run past the Berkeley Public Library to return three books before I had an overdue issue.

Parking at UCSF, the two of them headed up to the clinic while I took the N-Judah to Civic Center in an attempt to resolve some paperwork at UCHastings followed by sometime in the law library.

Returning to join them, it turned out George only needed platelets, so it was a much shorter stay in the infusion center than I initially thought. The time save, however was more than lost on the way home as the traffic was backed up to the freeway entrance. I absolutely detest San Francisco traffic. I don’t mind the trucks and delivery vehicles, they have a reason to be on the road. But all those cars with one person each, that idiot so busy chatting on their cell phone that they can’t responsibility drive? No, I don’t care for them at all….

A fist full of pills

Holly Doyne Posted on by 7

and more than once a day.

I will admit that I was thrilled to learn yesterday that it is time to back down on one of George’s meds. This decrease, then stopping the med will result in NINE (yes, nine) fewer capsules a day. Not an insignificant drop. At the same time, other than the absence of the bright, cheerful orange and blue, he will still be left with a lot of pills.

the most are in the morning

It falls to me, first thing in the morning, to set up the pill dispenser. After that, it is up to George to take his meds. Alarms from one’s phone can serve as great reminders. He has a bit more energy everyday. I have been having growing exhaustion. Today’s plan is for me to get some sleep!

Halloween

Holly Doyne Posted on by 5

Which wasn’t the first thing on my mind as we headed across the Bay Bridge to UCSF. After only one extra trip in, George is back on the Mon/Thurs twice a week visit schedule. Normally I really prefer morning appointments – driving over in the car pool lane and coming back before rush hour is ideal. We were not that lucky this week – the earliest available appointment was 1100 with the follow-on at 1430. As you can imagine, by the time we finished it was 1700 which means we didn’t get home till close to 1900 (ok, discount 20 minutes for a grocery store stop, but still).

In recent years, most clinical and retail locations have put strict guidelines on costumes in the work place. Admittedly, if common sense doesn’t prevail, you really don’t want anything that is going to scatter pieces, expose an excessive amount of skin or scare really young children.

The oncology/heme-transplant clinic at UCSF only deals with adults, and children (short, disease carriers) are specifically prohibited. Those facts didn’t change the costume guidelines, but the staff still managed to have a lot of fun.

I didn’t manage to get a picture of the skeleton, the jailbird with a chainsaw, or Trump in the orange jumpsuit with ball and chain. Waldo missed the photo opportunity –

but was spotted later

where in the world

In the morning

Holly Doyne Posted on by 25

Barring anything unforeseen – I get to take George home tomorrow. It means that we will be making every other day trips in for transfusions, but I figure that is well worth the hassle. For George? Different walls, own home, bed. But no order off the menu, newspaper delivered every morning, or being woken up two-three times a night for vital signs.

I think it is a good trade off.

We spoke today with both the pharmacist and the nursing educator. So other than anything else having to do with IV meds, I am hoping we can hit the road fairly early (or at least avoid evening rush hour…)

Migraine

Holly Doyne Posted on by 4

There is not much to talk about today. I never left Berkeley. For a short while I pretended that I was fine. But when I contemplated attempting to deal with a bus, traffic, people, etc I went ahead and acknowledged my limitations and took my meds and went back to bed.

George still had platelets in the double digits this morning, avoiding all need for transfusions. His docs are pleased. I may be able to spring him as early as Thurs. In any case, Will drive over in the morning so that I can pack up everything in preparation for heading home.

I can also bring along the supply of meds we have so as to prove to the pharmacy people that I am not kidding and have no intentions of repurchasing anything I already have on hand.

Yogurt

Holly Doyne Posted on by 1

There are serious limits on George’s diet right now. Processed foods are fine, prepackaged complete with preservatives and fixatives. But nothing fresh, nothing from outside that doesn’t fit into the above categories, and certainly nothing home made.

UCSF runs an a la carte menu for patients. Rather than trying to come up with multiple daily menus, balanced meals and pap that no one would possibly want to eat – they actually treat patients as adults and let them order anything they are allowed to have off the menu. Up to six times a day. The only limits actually being the times of day that the kitchen is open.

But they have breakfast all day, soups, snacks, pizza and entrees after 1100. There are options from more than just the standard middle America fare, the ice cream (available in vanilla or chocolate) is Hagen Das, the vegan shake option smells horrible.

Last spring, the pudding option became one of George’s favorite and I had to find a local source for the first couple of months home before the novelty wore off. The yogurt wasn’t to his liking. A couple of days ago, I noticed that the Peet’s I have been stopping at on the way in morning carries smallish containers of his favorite brand of yogurt. It is prepared. It comes in a sealed container. He is allowed to have it, along with canned vanilla lattes.

It is a nice change from bananas, crackers, and peanut butter in single serving containers.

 

Strider

a sneakily simple knitting pattern from Martina Behm – takes one skein of sock yarn and is all garter stitch.

Strider