"Normal"

What is normal?

Trish relaxed at home on Monday. Tuesday she visited the KC Wright building where her sister works now and she used to work a few years back. She brought in baked goods and visited with all the folks who have been cheering her on, praying and helping in the fundraising efforts. Tomorrow she will visit the "Rock" -- her workplace (not to worry she is baking tonight -- Thanks to our neighbors, the Perez's for dinner tonight -- I don't think Trish would have been up to baking and dinner -- though she would have tried)

We got a late call today from the BMT case manager. She had just been contacted by the NMDP and the donor had his blood drawn today. We had an appointment to get Trish's blood drawn Thursday, because that's when the donor was scheduled originally. They both must have blood drawn on the same day for the pre-testing and I guess like Effie Barry and her Mom -- there is still a possibility that the donor and Trish could have issues to delay or prevent the transplant. Trish and her sister rushed over to Cleveland Clinic, got the blood drawn (all five tubes) and rushed to a DHL drop box that was inside to avoid great heat, dropping the package just before the 6pm pickup.

To satisfy the Cigna requirements for transplant, Trish had a dental appointment today. The docor found one cavity that she felt should get fixed before the transplant, so we'll do that on Thursday.

I have been in the office this week. It is weird and different. The last thing I did in February was pack up my office and move it to a new office. I have slowly started to unpack that new office this week. It feels good to sit at "my" desk, but it seems more sureal than normal.

My office move was just one of many that took place in February and March of this year. I was walking through the office Monday and ran into someone -- who didn't realize Trish had relapsed and I had been out of the office for about 5 months working from Baltimore. She thought that she just hadn't seen me in a while, because of our new seats in the office. I explained the whole story to her. She was going to check the web site to read up and keep posted going forward. The funny thing for me was the casualness with which I explained what Trish had been through, with what lies ahead. I was getting dizzy thinking about what I was saying -- with how "normal" it was for me to spit out medical details, discuss the statistics around transplant and the possible outcomes. It was freakishly "normal".

I am not so sure what is normal anymore. Each day is its own adventure, and we move forward one step at a time. Taking one breath at a time. Appreciate every moment. Appreciate every person. Treat everyone well.