Friday morning

Deb is cheerful and doing well this morning after a tough evening up until 2 am when the dust settled some and she finally got some rest.I got up early and left her sleeping while I did the laundry. There are machines one floor below us.

Across the way from us is the breakfast room where the myeloma patients gather for a continental b'fast. Morning chit-chat is unusual in that various meds and stages of treatment are the topic instead of the local ball team and fishing results.

There are some lonely people here. Most folks have a caregiver friend or relative, but some have to hire a sitter or gut it out alone.

One such fellow is an older Jewish brother downstairs. He is from Brooklyn,NY and is alone. Today I reached out to engage him in conversation while I was doing laundry. He needed to do his clothes but did not know how to run the machines. I helped him and showed him how they work. We talked about all sorts of topics from the security of Israel, the peace talk process, and how many conservative Christians were friends of Israel. He's obviously very lonely. You might add him to your prayer lists as one who really needs a friend.

We are about to head over for lab tests. Deb is taking a cat nap.She is having some hallucinations seeing and hearing imaginary people.Drug affects?

We do Labs every day. Some days twice. Results of meds and blood chemistry are key elements in our treatment and drive the schedule: not personnel or equipment availability. This is a remarkable place!

Vern