Day 184 – Happy Half-New-Birthday to you!

Today is Jeff’s half-new-birthday; it has been six months since his BMT!  (Do you suppose Hallmark has a card for that occasion?)  Jeff says, “Time flies when you’re having fun!”  Of course, these last six months were not all fun and so we are especially grateful this Thanksgiving for Jeff’s good progress.

What a great Thanksgiving weekend - beautiful, warm weather, good food and good company!  Jeff took some risks but was able to enjoy turkey and all the fixings.

We had dinner with the Jones gang on Wednesday night.  We Skyped Daniel in from North Carolina and the rest of the young people were able to join us in the flesh.  It had been a long time since we all got together and it was Theresa’s first time at a Jones-Loux get-together.  Emily and Matt brought their two dogs and, with Lulu the wine stealer and Chester the cat, silliness ensued. 

Jeff and I worked the pancake breakfast to benefit Morrisville Student Loan Fund on Thanksgiving morning.  Jeff resumed his former job as french toast preparer after his hiatus during Vidaza treatments last year.  He lasted all morning and then went home for a nap before our drive to Havertown for dinner with Jeff’s brother’s family.  It was good to catch up with the young’uns, to see the cousins interacting as adults, and to spend time with Paul, Greg and Palmer.

I am pleased to report that Jeff’s stamina seems to be improving.  When Jeff undertakes a project, I know he’ll be heading for a nap or at least a rest when he is finished, but he seems to be lasting longer at his projects.  He helped Kim with an art project and then, with a little help from Keith, he welded Mark’s lawn mower deck.  The next day he helped the Boy Scouts set up their Christmas tree sale.  As he left the house that morning he told me, “I won’t be long.  I want to stay long enough to earn a doughnut.”  Keith reminded his dad that he should choose a doughnut from the box first, before all the scouts get their hands in it.  While Jeff was gone, I visited my parents with Kim, drove Kim back to the city, played with Mr. Maia - our grand-kitten, drove home, did several chores and still Jeff had not returned from the tree set-up.  I had been hatching a plan to go to the movies but as the afternoon wore on, I was becoming more and more disappointed because I thought he’d be too tired to go out.  He had been thinking about a movie night, too, and, when he got home, he suggested a movie date!  And so we went.  He stayed awake for the whole movie and he wanted to stop at a diner for dessert afterwards!

Jeff told me that he used the sledge hammer to set up the big posts at the tree sale.  I looked at him quizzically and asked how on earth he accomplished that without the ability to lift his right arm over his head.  I should know by now that he can engineer anything with whatever resources are at hand.  He said he stood on a stepladder and whacked at the stakes with the sledgehammer within his range of motion, then he went down one rung on the ladder and repeated until the stakes were in.  He assured me the posts “won’t come down.” 

Today Jeff, again with some help from Keith, raked the rest of our leaves, took a load to the borough compost dump, winterized the backyard, and grilled our dinner.  He was outside for hours.  When he came in, I noticed he was walking like he was sore – sore and happy.

In the last week, Jeff has had a flare-up of GVHD skin problems.  He has an itchy rash that looks like prickly heat except it isn’t raised.  There are some raised, dry patches that itch as well.  We have seen this before and know what to do.  He called Heather at Dr. Porter’s office to report it anyway.  The fingernail issues continue.  He often has three fingers wrapped in Band-Aids to prevent them catching on things.  Still, we are very, very thankful.  These are minor discomforts. 

In church this morning, I asked for prayers of thanksgiving for Jeff’s donor and prayed that she had a wonderful holiday, wherever she celebrated it.