Wednesday, November 23, 2005 

Thanks and Giving

It will be next week when we hear back from John's bone marrow test, but they expect no signs of leukemia and are more interested in how much of his "old" DNA shows up and how much is of his donor's healthy cells. He will be reducing his anti-rejection medicine this week and is also tapering his Prednisone. Good things to be thankful for.

I ran across a web article on "Letting Go of Hope" that caught my eye. I need to read it again but it is thoughtful, even if political. http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1122-21.htm

Courtney will be staying with us now that SCAD is over for the quarter. Four people and two dogs in an old three bedroom, two bath home. It will be fun, though she will be in California visiting friends for part of the time.

We are off to Florida for the holiday and will be back Saturday. We've realized that it has been a year and a half since I've seen my in-laws. Time is relative and you can't catch up on it, but you need to with your relatives. Tis the season to do that.

6:51 AM | |

Saturday, November 19, 2005 

Time Travel

It has been a year today, November 19, since John called from the doctor that Friday afternoon, so shocked and confused that he had the doctor explain that he had leukemia. Debbie was closer and got there first. The three of us heard the diagnosis of AML.

There was the month in the hospital that followed. We moved John in with us. The infection came in January and there were weeks more in the hospital. He didn't come back from chemo as he should, so we skipped further consolidation treatments and planned for a bone marrow transplant.

In April, we moved to Seattle. On May 26, John had a second birthday, of sorts. We returned then to a hurricane On September 1. Our small house seems like a hurricane at times, with two hairy, barking dogs (one blind no less) two working old people, painters and all, the noise of the city and with John, his girlfriend and others passing through at odd hours.

To celebrate 180 days post transplant, John had a bone marrow biopsy yesterday. The results will take a week, but other signs remain good. His GVHD has been limited to chronic stomach upsets that are being treated with low doses of Prednisone. His blood counts are reasonably good, but he hasn't needed any additional blood at all, which is excellent.

John's energy level is low. I think part of that is simply who he is, a 20ish guy without a lot of direction in life. Some relates to the fact that he has to think twice about things we ignore, like going outdoors in the daylight and going into a public place where he might be exposed to something.

I am tired inside and working to make my life smaller, though without much success so far.

Life is different now, but it is life, and, with all that comes with it, life is good. We are glad for it to go on, and we hope, on and on. That is my hope for you.

7:01 AM | |

Sunday, November 13, 2005 

All About Arithmatic

Musings before morning to begin.

Most people count years. I have come to appreciate days and we've been back from Seattle now for 77 pretty good ones. When you realize how fragile life can be, it matters that much more, or at least it does to me. I think most prefer not to think about it because it would be hard to live a normal life, and, as I think about it, that's quite true. The sun will come up in the morning is sure enough, but will one's world be like?


My assistant at work has been out of the office for most of several weeks helping her mother who has had stomach surgery for cancer. There are no medical studies on the subject, but I'm sure that the cause has to be children. I've been able to hire a temporary person to help with related work. She came to Atlanta after Katrina. She was to have started at a law firm there the day of the flood. Good people and families, all learning to cope.

And in other news, Courtney has been accepted to attend a semester in Peru beginning in January. She will be in Cuzco, up in the Andes about 40 miles from the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. That's a long way away.

John continues to do well. He will have his next bone marrow biopsy next Friday, which will be 180 days from his transplant, half a year, if you will.

Pay checks pay the rent, but the real reward for work is health insurance. That's the truth and most with it take it for granted. They shouldn't because those without health insurance do not. I happen to be the rarest when it comes to such things, having two sets of coverage.

John will drop off my employer's policy when he turns 23 in February. My early retirement policy, however, continues until he is 25 if he remains a full-time student. John has hinted at graduate school - two majors and a minor aren't enough - and it looks like that might be in the cards.

After he reaches 25, I can purchase up to 36 months of the same coverage for him under the COBRA laws. Somewhere then, before he is 28, John will have to get a real job, with his own insurance. That will be just over 5 years and if he has had no relapse, he should be covered, even if preexisting conditions are excluded. Days become years, if all goes well, but health insurance needs to be there every morning.

6:14 AM | |

Friday, November 04, 2005 

News from Lake Michigan

It's been 68 days since we flew home and living day to day with0ut plans for the next has transformed into a life of less conscious uncertainty. I have spent the past two nights in Chicago where I spoke on peer-to-peer file sharing (music sharing online) and the law. The technology is interesting, the economics and the law part, but the impact on people is what I notice the most, since I talk to lots of customers who have been sued by the music and film industries.

Since returning to the office, I've been doing my own work and that of pretty much two others, which takes its toll in time, frustration and timeliness. It doesn't seem to be something that will change soon.

John let his allergy medicine lapse, which led to a few worrisome days of symptoms that have dual meaning. He is back on it now and I hope will be better. Our coexisting with a 20 something has settled into a comfortable enough state, with him waking at noon, going out around dinner and returning after midnight. When our times overlap, it is nice, as we do a few times a week when what he needs is a good dinner or to have his friends over.

Debbie's dogs were away for the past week at "'Camp Rona", Peggy and Rona's menagerie. They had gotten a kitten and Sara, who is blind, but still playful, found a new friend in it.

It's early now, even for Chicago, and time to return to all the things that make work a four letter word.

6:16 AM | |

About me

  • I'm Randy Cadenhead
  • From Atlanta, Georgia
  • My son John was diagnosed in November of 2004 with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Since then, he underwent three rounds of chemotherapy and received a bone marrow transplant in Seattle. This site is about his experience, as seen through his father's eyes. Links to John's website and to his own live journal are below.
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