Úna arrives today

I haven't seen Úna since January 25 so I am beyond excited about her upcoming trip. The photos below are her dressed ready for her first airplane ride. ( the hat was knit by me). Nora and Ainaté are following my dictum to dress children in bright colours when you travel,so you can spot them easily .

Saw Dr Nakamura yesterday. I see him twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's very reassuring to have these regular check -ins with him. He is still very happy as am I although I have a very hard time believing that this saga might be over.  He has begun begun tapering some of my meds which is a good thing. But in the meantime I feel woozy betimes as my body gets used to this new regimen. We are still on track for the April 18 th "release" date. I will see dr Cecchi once a week and come down here to the City of Hope once a month

I will miss having Joanna and Steve around. They have taken excellent care of me and have taken their duties very seriously. You wouldn't believe that amount of rub a dub dubbing that needs to be done. Thanks a million Joanna and Steve.

And.....Thank you all for your continued support. I love hearing from you! Xxo

April 18th?

Not another photo Úna says.

On Tuesday Dr Nakamura whipped out a calendar and said that we should start planning my return home. Woo hoo. He jabbed his finger on April 18th and said that after I see him that day if all continues to go well, I could go home. As it turns out, Friday April 18th is Day 80 ( 80 days post transplant)). I still have a hard time believing my robust blood counts--- in particular the platelet count. For the past few weeks they have been hovering around the 100k mark which as most of you know, is amazing for me.

Joanna and Steve Davenport are here this week taking excellent care of me. As I write this, Steve is cooking up some delicious smelling hamburgers while Joanna is setting the table. I tell you in many ways this is the life of Riley --- whoever he is.

This morning Joanna, Steve and I took ourselves off to Santa Anita race track. Not to put money on the horses mind you but to watch them being exercised and to sit on the deck drinking coffee. (Our friend Judy from Indianapolis had told us about this). The setting of the track is magical with the mountains in the background. All manner of horses were strolling, trotting, and cantering. Really fun to watch. The only negative was that believe it or not it was a bit nippy . You can see in the pic that my scarf was put to good use.

100%/Day 50

A red letter day here today. Frank's bone marrow has engrafted totally on all three lines. In other words Frank's stem cells have done their job beautifully. Thank you donor Convery.  Dr Nakamura delighted as is Cechhi. I am thrilled too and I am surprised you didn't hear the family cheers when they got the news. As Ralph says" the misery was worth it"!

And today is day + 50. Half way to the 100 days.   ( 100 days is the period when I am most vulnerable to infection and that's why I am staying near the hospital )

Eoin and Sara are taking excellent care of me. They cooked up a delicious macaroni and cheese tonight. Yum!  And now we are about to watch "Frozen"

Úna with her early morning smiles

Frank and Jim wine tasting in January. All I will say is that it was good Eoin was the designated driver!

March 18th. Departure imminent

As I left the supermarket today I was once again amazed at the beautiful panorama of mountains straight ahead.  In the early evening all the features are more pronounced which is glorious.  How I'm going to miss all of this.  The weather is perfect.  Cool in the morning and evening and balmy during the day - perfect.  Judy left his morning to go to the track and meet some of the horse trainers that she knows.  Unfortunately since then she has been hanging around in airports with delayed flights but seems to be on her way to Indpls now.  We all hit it off really well and the house seems quiet without her.  My project for my time here was finished today.  See attached photo!  There is some doubt as to whether it is a cow or a donkey!!  Sile continues to improve a little bit each day.  Walking a little quicker and a little further and helping with the food preparation.  She is also the ipad tutor which has improved Judy and my skills immensely. I must sign off now.  I will really miss being here - the companionship with SIle, the beautiful scenery, the beautiful weather and the so so friendly people in the neighborhood.  Dublin see you soon!  I'll leave Sile to add a few lines not to mention photos.

Sile here. Will miss my minder Hazel! But....She won't miss earthquakes! She was rousted out of her bed at 6:30 am by a 4.4. Nor will she miss the endless hand washing. Or washing every food item that comes in the door. We are waiting for Eoin who is next up as minder in chief. He will have help in the form of Sara Murphy and Sarah Fairchild. Am I really that hard to take care of? ! Xxo

PS Dr Nakamura did not have the results yet of how much of donor Convery's marrow has taken over. Hopefully results will be in by Friday.

The cow!

Uneventful day: that's what we like!

 Sīle here. A lazy Sunday. Well at least for me. Hazel and Judy ( friend from Indianpolis)were out and about. More specifically they went to the Apple store in Pasadena. And Hazel got an IPod mini. Woohoo.

Another highlight from today. A longer uphill walk for me and a chat with a neighbor who invited us to see her magical backyard. I have never been in a place where people are so friendly. Our new BF, Kathleen Kelly, guess where her family is from, then invited us to help ourselves to lemons and tangerines. Now the larder is stocked with  citrus. Xxo

Úna in a hat I knit ( please don't look too carefully because there are a few boo boos)

Judy, Hazel and I in the backyard alluded to above. Swimming pool has been made into a koi pond