In the meantime, Jeff is dealing
with some nasty side effects that are most likely attributable to his immunosuppressant,
Mycophenolate. He bruises and bleeds easily, has lower back
pain that causes him to rock to one side when he walks, experiences blurred
vision frequently, and he seems to cough a lot especially when he tries to
sing.
Some of his side effects – hand tremors
and the swelling in the balls of his feet - may be caused by more than one of
his medications. And, he lost another
fingernail. He continues to joke that
now that he has his new bone marrow, he just needs a new body. For all that, he is spending his days
productively. Jeff’s next appointment with Dr. Porter is
Wednesday. We have a lot to report.
The spring term has come to a close
and I finished my Speech Communication class with a commemorative speech about
Jeff. The assignment was to commemorate
someone you know – or had known – from a prepared manuscript. Throughout the course, we students had gotten
to know each other pretty well through our speeches and classroom exercises. We had developed a warm camaraderie. When I wrote my speech, I was afraid that I
had not captured Jeff’s essence. However,
after delivering my speech, my classmates were especially nice to me. Their critiques were kind and favorable. In the hallway during our break, several of
my classmates gushed about how they felt they really got to know Jeff. So I did capture Jeff well! When I got home, I told Jeff that my
classmates liked me more for having introduced him to them!
Here is the opening paragraph of my
speech. I am debating posting the rest
of the manuscript. What do you think?
Joy Island
There is no one I would rather be stranded on a deserted island with than my husband, Jeff. I have always said this about Jeff, and for good reason. He is pleasant under almost any circumstance, is a world-class problem solver, can engineer anything, loves a good challenge, AND maintains his good sense of humor always. His McGyver-like skills would ensure we would eat on that deserted island and I know we would have more than adequate shelter. He would keep us laughing even as we faced danger.
