This is Getting Old

I don’t know how long the stay at home order will be in place.  We are being told that the next few weeks are going to be horrific with deaths exceeding what we saw as a nation in 9/11 and Pearl Harbor.  Dr. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert is my hero.

Stay at Home Order

The Governor has issued a “Stay at Home Order” for Colorado.  I’ve been home for two weeks now, so it’s nothing new for me.  However, now it is a law rather than as strongly worded suggestion.  I wonder how that law will be enforced.

Video Chats

How do I stay connected to my family and friends during this time of uncertainty?  My siblings and I have been been meeting up via video chats.  It’s pretty hilarious actually.  Also, my church is streaming the service live, but it’s weird taking communion with our own crackers and our own juice sitting on our own couch in our own living room. My Bible study small group is using Zoom to video chat about the lesson.  

How do I keep busy?  I can get library books online mostly. 

My sister  was wondering what time of day she should get out of her pajamas.  I’m still in mine and it’s 3:00 in the afternoon!

Staying Home

Things continue to change, rapidly.

Schools are closed.  People are working from home.

Colorado’s governor declared a “state of emergency”, and the entire state of California is on lock down.  Hardest hit are small businesses and restaurants.

My parents live in a patio home in a retirement community and essentially the virus has restricted them to their home. They cannot have any visitors, and meals are brought to their door.  They are considered high risk.  My dad is 90, and my mom is 87

My siblings and I purchased  a device for them called a “portal”, so that we can video chat with them and most importantly see them.

Oh My ... the Coronavirus has Arrived!

In the past week things have GONE CRAZY!  The coronavirus is now not just a topic of conversation, but THE topic of conversation among all the talking heads, government officials, etc.  Every hour there are new restrictions and new closures.  Grocery store shelves are bare.

A new phrase, “Social Distancing”, has entered our vocabulary.  Fist bumps are the new hand shake. The mandated size of group gatherings has gone from 250 people to 10.

For me, my oncologist has ordered monthly infusions of IVIG (intravenous immune globulin) and  vitamin B12 shots since my lab results were below normal levels.

So here it goes again.  This will be my “new normal”.

Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion

On August 20, 2017, Jim and I attended my Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion in Denver.  As you can see from the photo there were so many patients, care givers, family members, nurses and doctors  in attendance. (I'm peeking over the shoulder of the large man in the orange shirt at right center.)The patients were wearing large buttons that stated how long they had been a survivor.  It has been 8 years for me.  I saw a few people who have been a survivor for 10 or 11 years, but for most patients, their survivabilty was measured in months.

STILL ALIVE AT 8 YEARS POST TRANSPLANT!!

I had my 8th post transplant anniversary this week!  University of Colorado Hospital 's transplant department had a reunion for all transplant patients and their families. Also all the nurses and doctors were there.  It was pretty awesome.  I wasn't the the longest living patient.  I did see a couple of patients who had lived 11 years, but most were recent patients whose survival was only listed in months.