January 27th - February 2nd: Kirbzilla and the Rules of Golf

SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 2007 10:22 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

Keith felt quite good again today.

He enjoyed Scott’s company and had a friend over most of the afternoon, making it a very fun day for him. Later the boys even tried their hand at making a video, using what else but Kirby as subject matter. They edited the raw footage on the computer and were quite happy with the results.

Yep, today is Kirby appreciation day again so we fed him a little extra. He’s still as big as ever.

If you happened to see a 30 story feline prowling amongst the high-rises along Market Street today that was Kirb-zilla.

wink…

SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 2007 10:22 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

The boys and a friend of Keith’s were in our family room reviewing some of the video footage they had recently captured on the computer. The TV was on and tuned to a golf tournament with nobody in particular watching it. At one point Keith looked up and was fascinated by one of those super slo-mo close up replays of a bunker shot. The following conversation ensued:

Keith “Hey, that guy missed the ball, he just hit the sand and the sand just flew up and pushed the ball out”
Dad “Well, that’s how you are supposed to do it. These guys are professionals.”
Keith “So what if you swing and the ball doesn’t move – is that a stroke?”
Dad “Well, it is if you have addressed the ball.”
Keith “So what if you hit it out with your hand?”
Dad “Let’s see. I think that would be a stroke plus a penalty stroke.”
Keith “What if you throw the ball out of the sand trap into the hole?”
Scott “Well, then you would probably be disqualified.”
Keith “What if you blow on the ball and it moves?”
Scott “Disqualified.”
Keith “I just don’t get why there are all these rules.”
Dad “Yeah, there’s a whole thick book of them.”
Scott “Obviously you don’t know the rules of golf.”
Keith “Well obviously you just don’t know how to cheat…”

Maybe he’s read too much Calvin & Hobbes, but one of the things I love about Keith is the way he can end a conversation with such punctuated wit leaving me feeling like the straight man.

Tomorrow (Monday) we will draw lab samples to see where Keith’s blood counts are and then he will climb in the car and take his wit to Stanford where he will undergo a kidney function test that takes 5 hours or so to complete. We are hoping the lab results will show that he does not require another transfusion of red blood cells or platelets.

If that’s the case the rest of the week should be smooth sailing.

MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007 08:40 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

Josie did a great job getting Keith to Stanford and back today in commute traffic – not an easy task.

Keith drank 30 ounces of fluids for the 5 hour GFR (renal function) test. Definitely not an easy task (especially for him – he’s the human equivalent of a cactus in terms of fluid intake)

The rest of us had relatively easy days, including Kirby who just sat around and did the two things that a large housecat does especially well – sit around and eat.

Keith’s labs came back uber solid. His ANC is up to 5400, his platelets are climbing and his hemoglobin is stable. He’ll stay on GCSF for another couple of days at which point we’ll spare him from the daily annoyance of being hooked up to a pump with a tube for an hour.

Microbes…. Bring ‘em on!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2007 11:39 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

A late post and a short one I’m afraid. Keith continues to feel well and is in good spirits. No medical news of any note to report, he just enjoyed a simple day at home and managed to get some overdue schoolwork done.

You’ll get no complaints from me when days like this come along.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007 09:34 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

Keith had a great day again so once again I am challenged to report any new news tonight. While this may not make for interesting reading it certainly is fine by Keith. He’s just a bit tired of always being responsible for having to ‘make news’ so whaddya’ say we just give him the rest of the week off.

I’ll take this opportunity to lay out the outline schedule for the next few weeks leading up to the Bone Marrow Transplant. First up, he will have a pre-admission dental check up. If anything needs attention it must be taken care of before the BMT admission.

Next week things start to get more interesting. Keith is scheduled for another CT scan, a bone scan, a physical exam, a bone marrow aspirate and a pulmonary function test (he did not actually have the PFT last Wednesday as I reported) all at Children’s.

The following week it’s back to Stanford for a couple of days to complete the MIBG scan and if all systems are go and Keith passes all of the precursor diagnostics then the BMT admission would happen soon after. Seems to me for someone who is not in regular school, he sure has to take a lot of tests.

We also learned a while back that Scott is not a donor match for Keith, so we’ll continue forward as expected with Plan A.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 2007 10:49 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

Wow, I’m really struggling again tonight for a topic as Keith continues to hang in there and feel good. For me, Keith’s buoyant personality and amazingly cheerful demeanor take some of the sting away from the reality of parenting a child with cancer. Some day I hope to muster adequate words to describe some of the very difficult emotions and refocused perspectives that this uninvited intruder has set into motion in our household. But for now it’s ‘Journal Lite’- I don’t feel I have the energy to go there just yet.

So…. following my earlier precedent that established that if there was no real news to report, post a recipe. So here you go: Root Vegetable Gratin . I’ve made this a couple of times and think it’s great so give it a go before winter ends – it’s sort of comfort food. You’ll see from the ingredient list it’s certainly not ‘Lite’ fare but all those calories will keep you warm.

Non sequitur number two….. My very good friend Mike who grew up with me back in Michigan is turning the big five-oh in a few days. Of course, that means that I’m not far behind. I haven’t given much thought about how one is supposed to act when one turns that corner in life. Does one need to study the finer points of becoming a ‘geezer’ or does it just happen….? Some research is in order.

I think I’m feeling a second mid-life crisis coming on.

Yep, I think I need a new car….

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2007 09:28 PM, PST

Parent’s Note:

Keith sailed through his dental appointment today, receiving only a gentle but firm reminder it maybe it might be good to brush his gums as well. He also squeezed a language arts and math test into his busy schedule.

I think it’s safe to say he was thoroughly examined today.