TMI on TBI

Well it seems like we're due for an update here and I (breezy) am not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, so I'll keep this one short (the title is therefore a bit of a misnomer, but it's the best I could come up with). 

We've continued to have a pretty good time getting out and about while D has still been feeling relatively good and counts have been high. Over the 3-day weekend we turned a friday visit that Alpen had with the occupational therapist (another story for another blog) into an outing around our old capitol hill stomping grounds, visiting friends and, most importantly, the coffee shop on the corner of our old apartment for some seasonal caffeinated beverages (I think you know what I'm talking about!). We visited with some friends Jay and Rach at their new house that's only a 15 minute walk from our house (woo hoo!) on two occasions, allowing Alpen to get pretty comfortable in the new digs (as shown below). On Saturday night we strolled into town for one of Derek's favorites - veggie sushi, and the requisite sake accompaniment. Sunday Derek had to go to the SCCA so that a new nurse could tell him about the side-effects of drugs that he has already been told about several times and several of which he has been taking for years... but we took advantage to get some sandies in Eastlake and visit with a few other buds. We also did some fun stuff like ikea shelf installation and general home tidying. All in all, pretty good given that Derek had just finished a week of cranial and spinal radiation at the proton therapy center, which is the only one for many states (a 6 state area? 7 states?), making it very special. It seems like he was able to manage his nausea pretty well and stay in good spirits!

This week though, he is starting the TBI (total body irradiation) which is just no fun at all. He has to go twice a day to receive the radiation at UW, and then in-between to the SCCA to check in with the team. Today things were pretty stormy here, with high wind advisories, so the transportation component was not super slick, but Derek's dad David has been on driving duty while Marian was here taking care of little AlPal™. She put the new recommendations from the OT into practice and it seems like Alpen is well on his way to learning to sit up! Derek is scheduled for TBI Mon-Weds, and then with Thursday being the planned transplant day, will be admitted to the hospital then.

The Lovebuch guys at the SCCA

The Lovebuch guys at the Proton Therapy Center

Alpen and his friend Asa, who kindly shared numerous fabric veggies with old AlMar (Alpen Mark) and showed him the ropes on the play center