Da Ol Folks at Home

I talked to Gene last night and he said he has never written a single email or ever posted anything on the internet so when I compare myself to him I don't feel so bad for not posting anything for this past week.

The first thing after getting discharged, Billie took me to a little taqueria in our neighborhood. It wasn't until then that I noticed that my sense of taste was not all there. I seem to smell food OK but only half of my taste buds seem to be functioning. I hope this effect goes away when my hair starts to grow back. It takes a lot of the pleasure out of eating when you have trouble tasting the food.

The doggies didn't seem to miss me much. I can tell that they like Billie a lot more.

Not much has really happened that merits mention. I have puttered about the house doing minor housework. I snaked the bathroom sink so it will drain properly. I changed the battery terminals on our little Ford Escort so that we can use it. The Ford was Billie's moms car . It's over ten years old and only has 35.000 miles on it. I have been driving around town and running errands.

Last weekend we took a day trip to our Tahoe house and picked up a few personal things. I was amazed with how well my little kitchen garden was growing. It's been about two months since I last saw the garden. I have it watered with a drip system on a timer. We picked a bunch of stuff to go and left before dark .

On Sunday we went to the local farmers market in Sacramento. The place was mobbed. I bought a lot of fresh fruit and some sweet corn.

On Monday we went to see Doctor Ong. My white blood and platelet counts are within the normal range. My red cell count is still low and slowly rising. I can tell because I seem to walk in slow motion. My body has atrophied from the cancer and from spending so much time lying in a hospital bed. I've lost about 15 pounds.

Next week I have an appointment in San Francisco with the medical team there. I may be admitted to UCSF for my next round of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. All this is part of the strategy that is going to attack the FLT3 variant of AML that I have.

The rest of the time I have at home is spent reading and napping. I have been enjoying watching the Vuelta de Espana on the internet this past few weeks. This morning a young Irishman, Philip Deignan won the days stage after a long breakaway.

The weather here in Sacramento has been unseasonably cool. I like spending time on the front porch swing reading and watching the action in the neighborhood. When Billie is home from work we like catching up on the days news on the porch swing.

I really am savoring this time at home with Billie and the doggies. This time next week I may be back in a hospital again.