Days Are Better, Nights Are Worse

The days go quickly, with all that needs to happen. PT requires focus but the rest of it is easy.

Highlights of Wednesday:
I figured out how we could get the broccoli planted without me or Jon, and now there are 1400 beautiful broccoli plants in the ground, thanks to people who know how to do things and are up for anything new (we now have a mechanical transplanter on this farm again, for the first time in a long time). 

Jon went to Baltimore to see Dr. Imus for his one year checkup. The transplant was almost exactly a year ago.  Jon did not get the remission we hoped for out of this one, but Dr. Imus is confident and hopeful that there are plenty of options to address this disease.  Jon's myeloma is progressing, getting more aggressive, the doctor says. So Jon will resume the chemo regimen that he was using a year ago -- back to a combination of infusions, pills and steroids.  I listened to the appointment on the phone and I could visualize the two of them in that little examining room, both in masks (they have never seen each other's faces), Dr. Imus glancing at the computer terminal to see all the reports from all the tests in the last few weeks. He is such a reassuring guy, very nice. He is a multiple myeloma doctor at Hopkins and it is impossible to surprise him or even to glimpse a sense of worry. Now there are two doctors at Hopkins that we know and like but we have used up our Kaiser time there and will only be connected to him through Jon's oncologist at Kaiser. When we said our goodbyes (and he had heard about what is going on here with the knee), he said that the two of us had found a good partner in each other -- he was really referring to how both of us tend to push the boundaries of what is allowed, while still being relatively conscientious about our health. Jon had told him that it was possible he ended up in the hospital last time after pushing leaf piles around with the loader, with no mask -- but there have been no tests that confirm that possibility. All of his tests have been negative except the ones that show an increase in myeloma activity.

Isabel came to visit and brought her portable acupuncture kit and she gave my leg a treatment while I was just sitting in my chair. What an unusual gift! I had never been treated by her before -- she has worked part time on the farm all through her long five years of school, and now she is certified, has a real job as an acupuncturist, is contining her education. I have known that child since she was in the fifth grade in my Hebrew class, and now she is a grown-up learning to be a contractor and figure out how to be a business person.

I participated in a too-long Zoom meeting where we finished a big project for the temple.  I am the Chair of a committee but my partner in this is really the most organized, most pro-active, most dependable person in the world. Neither of us would have accepted this role without the other, but he does the lion's share of the work.  He is gracious about taking my suggestions and advice, which is my favorite role, of course.

Jon and I celebrated the end of Passover by going out to dinner at the Plaka Grill. It was my first car ride in a week. It was hard to bend my knee to get in the car and hard to sit in a chair, but the food was delicious and it was nice to get out.

All of this added up to a good, full day and maybe that is why I had such a yucky night. It was not a night for sleeping.  But I had decided to sleep in our own bed last night, as a change of pace, and it was easy enough to get up there, it felt so nice to be in a bed and my leg just hurt loudly all night long. I used my brother Charles' insomnia trick -- put NPR on with headphones. I learned about submarine history and Biden's trip to Ireland and various other things. The good thing about listening to NPR is then you know you must have slept some because you realize you missed all the news headlines, so therefore you really did sleep. It's like a sleep monitor. If you can't remember hearing the 5:00 news, then you were sleeping.

Life is very good.