More Quiet Days at Home

            I apologize. I see that I never reported a key fact: David is still in remission.

            We’ve had some quiet days at home since David returned. On Saturday I did some major housekeeping and I feel like I’m taking back my house after 10 long weeks. Sunday we went to the Arlington Ward sacrament meeting, and then Jim drove David home. We had supper together, and Jim and I sang some hymns in the family room, a throwback to our newlywed days in Chicago.

            David’s comprehensive dental exam on Tuesday found no hidden abscesses or infections; which would be very dangerous when David’s immune system is knocked out.

            I’ m enjoying being home and doing homey things, though it’s a struggle to ward off the feelings of impending doom and focus on the beauty of the day. It’s been a beautiful week. Warmth has finally come to New England, though the cool Spring means the light purple rhododendron are still in bloom on every block. Springtime in New England isn’t the showy riot of color and bloom of Maryland; but bursts of color punctuating the welcome green.

            Yesterday we met with Dr. Yi-Bin Chen, David’s transplant doctor. He confirmed that David will enter the hospital early next week, for more chemotherapy and then immune system suppressant drugs in preparation for the bone marrow transplant. [See my post of April 15^th, “Bone Marrow Transplants” for details. Sam will donate his stem cells via IV, and not by aspiration.] Sam arrived late Tuesday night and spent Wednesday morning at MGH getting a thorough workup to confirm he is healthy and infection-free. We met at lunchtime and had hot sandwiches at the Riverside Café in the Yawkey Building at MGH.

            David fatigues easily, but is in good spirits. It was heartening to see him and Sam chat about movies while we waited at various points during the office visits. I watched David’s echocardiogram and marveled at the technology that allows even a layperson like myself to see and recognize functioning heart valves and arteries, and marveled at the intricacies of the human body.