The Pace is Glacial

Alissa says I can just say:  TLDR.  For those in my generation and older, that means you don't have to read this one, as there is nothing of real import.  Too Long Don't Read.

Yesterday we waited until about 1:00 to get the news about the new drug.  Jon just sits for hours in a chair behind a curtain and there are people bustling around, up and down the narrow hallway. The IPOP is a small scale hospital ward, kind of like a sleeper train. Behind the curtains are patients who are all on the transplant train, at different points in the process. One side of the aisle is beds, the other side is chairs. Everyone can hear what everyone else is saying. Nothing very interesting is being said, but it is illuminating to hear what is happening along the way. The lady across the way was getting admitted to the hospital because she is neutropenic (no white blood cells) and has a big fever and has jaw pain. That's a bad combination. But she had to wait a long time for a bed to open up. Hospital time has its own pace. Everyone is calm and kind, and the nurses are in constant motion, taking care of all the people. There is a great deal of waiting.

It is Saturday morning at 8:45 and Jon went over for an 7:45 appointment to get another shot, trying to jazz up stem cell production. He is now waiting for the results of his daily blood test and for a brief conversation with a doctor.  

After lunch yesterday we went back to Virginia. Jon changed into his farm clothes and went to work with Benjamin on some unfinished tasks.  Benjamin has never done any of these jobs before and it would have been hard to explain to him over the phone just how much force to put on the tire iron while mounting a big heavy tire for the fertilizer spreader.  Benjamin said it was a two person job but Jon said he wasn't doing much, except directing. Okay, but how did his hands get so dirty?

Meanwhile I looked around at the fields and saw that they were still too wet.  Did a little bit of spading in areas that wouldn't be too damaged by my impatience, turning under the winter cover of weeds on beds that had no cover crop. But mostly I just hung out with Mika. We went together on the golf cart to chase the geese out of Parents (this is high geese season, they are getting ready to settle down and lay some eggs and we are not going to let that happen) and we had a series of conversations with people we found doing interesting things outdoors. By the time I was finished talking with everyone, Mika was asleep.

We had Shabbat dinner, a slightly hurried affair. Benjamin and Yael cooked, we ate out on the porch, and they hustled off to services because I was there to put Mika to bed for the night. Rebecca was left to clean up the kitchen. 

By the time we headed back to Baltimore, Jon was used up for the day. Even though he was only working for a couple of hours, that was enough to remind him of how underpowered he is these days. He has lost all the weight he gained last year (steroids) and he is back to his slim, trim self.  He looks great, actually. If only his body would cooperate and do the stem cell thing. 

This is where I spend lots of time by myself. You can see that we are not worried about hosting guests. This is a small scale version of home. And there is something very nice about living with just two bowls, two spoons, two mugs.  Super simple. Washing dishes is a pleasure.