Checking In (Seattle, Chemo Round 60, East Coast, ER, 32nd Birthday)

Dear Readers, forgive me for being so quiet over the last several weeks - as always, it's not an indication of bad things happening but many things happening. There's almost too much to report so let me hurry up and get to it. A few weeks back, I went to Seattle, where I spent time with a wonderful family (my friend Dan's), spoke to companies and groups about The Wunder Project (I'd say talking to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and to Dan's daughter Elana's 8th grade class were the highlights), spent time with my friend Buzz and chilled with my mom at the Space Needle, and generally had an incredible time because of some incredibly hospitable people. Seattle is absolutely one of my favorite cities. After Seattle, I rocked Chemo Round 61. I'm definitely getting the hang of this new cocktail and monitoring any nausea with some good old Zofran. After chemo, I left for the East Coast. New York City for Duke Basketball games and Thanksgiving, Maryland to hang out with our cousins, then Duke for more hoops. New York was awesome. I spent time with family and friends, caught some basketball (although Duke lost to Arizona, it was still great supporting them at Madison Square Garden - plus, I got to see my Seattle bud Dan and his girls, Elana and Olivia again!), and saw an incredible performance of The Glass Menagerie on Broadway. I am still taking it very easy given my skinny, Zaltrap-weakened state, but I even made my way to the gym a couple of times for some light lifting. I didn't quite make it to Duke in time for hoops because at the tail end of the NYC trip and the beginning of the Maryland one, my back was in excruciating pain. Turns out that some blood had bled into my back muscles and I had to be taken to the ER for a scan and an insanely welcome shot of Dilaudid. Luckily, I was in great hands since my cousin is a nurse and her husband is an ER doctor. They took good care of me and while I did make it to Durham, I was a day late for the game. I have a feeling there will be many more games, though. :) Then, I flew home, got in a stretch Range Rover limo with some amazing friends and family, and celebrated my 32nd birthday. The next day, the 8th, was my actual birthday, and I relaxed in PJs with a fire roaring as my extended family came over to hang out. A very high profile and low profile way to celebrate one's big day, just within hours of each other. Still feeling pretty wiped out from my back saga (I'm bruised, still a little swollen, and waiting for my newly downgraded blood thinner meds to help things balance out), I convinced Dr. Lenz to let me rest up a few more days and get chemo on Thursday (tomorrow). And that's exactly what I'm up to now - resting up! Once this back bounces back, I will be back. I'm happy to report that I've gained two pounds and am slowly building some muscles. While Zaltrap dealt me a pretty tough hit during the five months I was on it, it's good to remember that I hit harder. Never fear, dear readers, your WunderGlo is doing well, keeping busy, killing cancer, and still loving life.