Still Quiet

            Things are going well. David will be admitted to Lunder 10, a cancer inpatient floor at MGH on Tuesday, 10 June. He will have more chemo therapy and immune system suppressants. If all goes well, on 16 June David will receive Sam’s stem cells          In preparation for his return home after the transplant, the house will get a thorough ‘spring cleaning’: washing the curtains, vacuuming the couches, washing the floors, and dusting high and low.

            .At the time of transplant David will have no appreciable immune system. It is vital that he avoid infection. For 100 days he must avoid public places: no church, movie theaters, stadiums, public transportation, shops, etc. He will wear a mask while visiting the doctor at the MGH outpatient clinic. He can’t have fresh flowers or houseplants. He can have healthy visitors over the age of 12. He can walk outside (pollens are not infectious) and drive in the car without a mask. Everyday he’ll work on getting stronger: walking a little farther, doing a bit more.

            David, Jim, Sam, and I drove to Manchester, CT last night to hear R'els final choral and orchestral Pops concert. Of course she lit up the stage with her expressive singing. Peter, Xiomara, and Andrew (13 months old) arrived from the Bronx to join us. Andrew sat in rapt attention during Richard Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries. One of R’els choir numbers was an English language version of Luigi Denza’s “Finiculì, Funiculà”. I drove David home immediately after the concert (Manchester, CT is about 90 miles from Lexington), but I heard it reported that Jim severely embarrassed at least one offspring with a rendition of “One Day I Took With Me Upon the Subway My Tall Silk Hat” at the West Hartford Ben and Jerry’s during R’els ‘perfomance treat’, a time-honored tradition of sharing a edible treat after a concert.

            Today David went to the Arlington Ward sacrament meeting again. We had supper together with Kyle Duke. Later Charles, Leif, and Mie Inouye, and Mie’s intended, Ryan Davis, joined us for fun reminiscences of high school days. We ended the evening with a call from our son Matt.