January 3, 2001|

So far, so good…

Well, I am on day six here in Art’s sabbatical, and so far so good. I have had only one really bad day. Otherwise, I feel fine. I have been really blessed so far. I am telling you, the prayers are really working, I can literally feel them keeping me up and going. I really haven’t slept in the past few days and eating happens kinda of sporadically, but I can’t complain. The side effects have been absolutely minimal. I can’t attest the good results to any other source. So far, so good.

The Big Concert

Next Tuesday is the big day. Let me regress. Last night, Molly and Michelle, two Goldman co-workers, were visiting when a musical therapist dropped by my room to offer a song up. She was a pretty hip 20 something who volunteers once a week playing her harp to patients. “Pretty cool,” we thought, so we invited her in, and she rocked up some ol’ traditional Irish tunes. Jokingly, I asked if she knew the Backstreet Boys. Ha! We all shared a laugh and then she mentioned that she did have some sheet music for some 60s songs. Hmmm…we peered over her binder and found the tune we wanted to sing along with, Molly and Michelle being karaoke queens.

As I investigated the sheet music, I discovered that the chords were really, really easy and that I could strum along on my guitar (which my dad brought earlier in the day to help pass the time). So we tuned up the harp with the guitar and jammed to the Peter, Paul and Mary classic “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” It was a moment that I probably will never forget. It was the first time I had played my guitar with anyone singing, let alone with another instrument. It was such a blast that we all decided to do it again next Tuesday. With a week’s practice under our belt, I can only imagine the show we will put on. So if you are in New York City next Tuesday at 7pm or so, we are going to have a harp and guitar concert. Be prepared to sing along.

Smiling

I have read how smiling does some kind of psychological or hormonal deal that perks you up. So I tried it yesterday when I was feeling really crummy, and let me tell you, it really works! Try it today! If you are feeling stressed, down, blue – just smile. Something lightening occurs when your lips curl up – and the world seems so much better. This probably sounds cheesy, but try it. It really works. That has been one of the many little lessons I have been blessed to learn while here in my bubble.

Up Next

Tomorrow is the actual stem cell transplant. From what I understand, it is anti-climatic and smelly (which is why for the procedure I have to suck on lemons). All they do is take a giant needle and push the stem cells through my catheter for like 30 minutes.

The next (and last) hurdle is the sore throat. The chemo is killing all of the rapidly multiplying cells in my body, including in my throat and mouth. Since I will have no immune system to stop the killing, the throat takes a beating for a few days until my white cells recover. Once that is over, it is all recovery and staying away from sick people. I expect to bounce back quickly, if everything goes the way it has gone so far. Please pray for my next 10 days or so, that I can deal with the pain and that I won’t be tired or sick or nauseated from not eating.

Thank you for the prayers so far, they have worked beyond what I could have imagined. Now I have some practicing to get back to… “I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know…”