Day 122 – Funny Business As Usual

Friday night Kim came up to visit and we made Grandmom Loux’s Chocolate Funny Cake.  The recipe calls for three layers so we decided to split the work three ways.  Jeff was in charge of the pie crust, his forte.  Maybe it was the humidity that caused the crust to be a problem; it was not easy to roll out.  Jeff sweat with the effort and became frustrated.  We managed to get the crust in the pie plate and added Kim’s chocolate and my cake layers.  Jeff said the result tasted like his mother’s but it didn’t look like it.  We perhaps, maybe, possibly were a little, teeny bit too anxious to serve it.

Saturday morning we went to our favorite breakfast joint, Mil-Lee’s in Yardley.  We met Judy and Mark and had Kim along with us, too.  I think it was my first breakfast out since Jeff’s transplant; it was his second.  Such a little thing as breakfast out seemed so special after a four-month hiatus. 

Jeff forgot to take his pills on Sunday morning.  Instead of going to my parents’ house after church, we had to go back home for his meds.  It turned out that he wasn’t feeling well enough to go visiting.  He tried to find a reason for his discomfort; he laughed and told me he was trying to blame it on the meds – the ones he’d forgotten to take!  He guessed it was just one of those days.  I hooked up his IV and asked him how he likes his mini-bag one-hour infusions.  He said it is “not a long enough nap.” 

I had asked for Jeff’s help in selecting some of our favorite wedding photos from the digital proofs Kerry and Theresa had given us.  Sunday afternoon we sat poring over the 400+ pictures of the beautiful couple and their gorgeous friends and siblings, etc.  Jeff boogered out somewhere around photo number 100.  I soldiered on until I had selected 167 of my favorites.  Now at least I can show some of them to my friends without reserving hours of their time. 

Today – Monday - Jeff began his week with a lot of ambition.  He thought about working on our neighbor’s door again but decided the humidity would zap his energy.  He had a short list of household chores and grocery shopping to do but why do today what you can put off for tomorrow?  He went out to lunch with Dan – always a good choice.  Then he fixed a zipper on one of my purses, showing impressive manual dexterity.  I keep encouraging him to try the lathe and when he called me at lunchtime, I pushed gently again. 

The lathe - the newest piece of equipment in his shop.   It was purchased since his diagnosis, specifically with this long recovery time in mind.  In order to use it, he had to clear the workbench and tidy the shop, put things away and clean out a paintbrush abandoned by Keith after a summer paint project.  During the time he was being treated with Vidaza, Jeff installed the lathe in his shop and wired the lighting for that area.  However, when he went into the shop today, he could not remember how to turn that light on!  He thought this was pretty sad.  I reminded him that it wasn’t as though he’d used the lathe for years and suddenly forgot where the light switch was located.

Once he got going, the actually turning went alright.  It seemed manageable, he thought.  He started turning a spoon handle but did not get to the more jarring cup part of the spoon.  Prior to the transplant he could finish turning a spoon in an hour or so.  Still, this first attempt was satisfactory. 

Today’s blood counts were pretty good as was Jeff’s blood pressure when Nurse Anthony checked it this morning.  Jeff has decided to always use his “good arm,” the left one, for BP checks.  He and Giblet have developed a routine when the nurses come to the house.  Jeff muzzles Giblet for a minute and this seems to calm her.  Her incessant barking may cause Jeff’s BP to measure high.  Consistent use of the left arm together with Giblet’s submissive behavior yields better BPs.