Dear family and friends,
This is just a quick update from the road. I say “from the road” because I was able to travel to Boston for the holiday week/weekend and have been able to visit in person! Though this Thanksgiving did not include any of the traditional food for Abba, there was still much for which to be thankful. First and foremost, Eama. She continues to do yeoman’s work. She is tasked with monitoring meds, monitoring symptoms, monitoring food and water consumption, monitoring sleep, monitoring mood, and monitoring cleanliness. The robot vac (which, for purposes of this email, I’ll call Marvin) comes out, looks around and then throws itself off a cliff because it feels so unneeded in such a spotless environment. Hard to believe there is any time left for anything else.
There have been some ups and down but the downs have all been expected side effects of the treatment. The ups remain centered around good lab numbers. The down included one bad bloody nose that resulted in an unplanned trip to the hospital (though by the time that he was seen by the docs the bloody nose had ended) and he is now dealing with the thick-tongued, sore-throated inevitable thrush that apparently comes with this treatment. It seems that even though Abba can’t taste most things right now, the awful flavor of the anti-thrush gargle comes through. Yay! Eventually we’ll look back and say dayenu, but for now we rest on “this too shall pass.”
Otherwise things are headed in the right direction. The other morning Eama came to pick me up from my uncle and aunt’s house and Abba decided he needed an outing so he came along for the ride. He, of course, couldn’t leave the car and had to be gloved and masked, but a change in scenery from the only other drives he’s had (to and from the clinic) was a pleasure. Abba’s brother, Sheldon, was able to say hello in person—an added treat. Abba is also beginning to plan some of the things he wants to do when he is finally released from his year including a list of concerts he wants to see. (The list, of course, begins with the Doobie Brothers, but also includes a plan to finally get to see Arlo Guthrie.) Abba is also beginning to enjoy feature length movies (whereas he was barely able to stay awake for short TV shows before).
Art has also finally made it up on the wall. There is an original Aunt Clara just inside the entryway and an original Kadishman around the corner. The hall that leads to the workout room and to the guest bedroom and bathrooms has a Haica Shmueli brightening it up. Then there is an original Nadav across from an original signed Robert Frost The Road Less Traveled in the living room. Down the hall to the master bedroom you’d find reproductions of the coronation posters created for Louis the 16th and Marie Antoinette (because what master bedroom is complete without that) while in the bedroom itself there are a smattering of family photos and an original David Moss (which David created specifically for Abba to help with his healing). An additional Original Nadav and an original Mae Rockland will be added to the mix following framing. Suffice it to say, no short-term rental ever looked so good!
That’s it from here for now. Thanks again for continuing to send messages. I continue to pass them along and though response is still few and far between, receipt has been a joy. Keep them coming and I’ll keep passing them along.
Ariel
(currently in Boston)