Good, Bad, and Scarey

In Line at Mo's
in Lincoln City

 My Peeps

I have gotten a few emails and questions from my adoring fans lately asking why I haven't updated this blog for the past few weeks.  My answer:  nothing exciting to report, thankfully.

Pam is doing a little better all of the time.  She still feels far from good, still weak, still has tremors, and still tires easily, but she is doing a little more all of the time and her "bad days" are less frequent.  All is well.

But still, I have a very demanding public that needs to know stuff. Here goes:

Good News

• We went to the 3 day Willamette Country Music Festival. There was lots of RVs, people, country music, and heat. Lots of heat. Pam tolerated everything very well (although we had to seek refuge in the shade of some outhouses for a while), and we almost made it through to the bitter end.  As we were leaving late Sunday afternoon, my silent prayer was answered as Pam said "that was fun, but I don't want to do it again". 



After Climbing Steps
from the Beach

• The following weekend, we went to little Austin's Hawaiian First Birthday Luau Extravaganza.

• Over Labor Day Weekend, we went to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast.  Lots of sand, people, and cars. (Bonus tip: Do not go to Lincoln City on Labor Day Weekend.) Pam rode her bike a little and took a long walk on the beach with me. We also went to a little art festival in Toledo. Lots of art, not so many people, one previously undiscovered brew pub.
• On Sept 3rd, Pam's Birthday, we met Jason, Alyssa, and Austin at the Rogue after we returned from Lincoln City. Had a great time. Little Austin gets cuter every day.  He is getting to be quite the ham bone. 

Three Guys Out on the Town

Bad News

Last Thursday evening, I received a phone call from my Dad.  A phone call from my Dad is always bad news, because he doesn't really believe in using the telephone for trivial matters. He told me that my Aunt Jan died unexpectedly at their home in Grangeville, Idaho. Just collapsed and died. It was quite a shock, because she was a very healthy, vibrant person.  Here is a link to her obit. I will really miss her. So, I drove to Grangeville Friday afternoon after I got through my noon meeting at work.  Pam really wanted to go, but she still isn't really well enough to make a trip like this, so I went solo. The funeral was on Wednesday, so I wasn't able to get back to PDX until Thursday. I think it is the longest we have been apart since she got leukemia. I was able to have a good visit with my sisters and parents.

Lots of tears, laughter, and relatives who look a lot older than they did in 1973. A lot older.

Scarey, but Good News

In between the events detailed above, Pam got a routine follow up bone marrow biopsy.  No big deal at this point, especially for me, because none of them have hurt me a bit. Pam has had 3 or 4 of these by now. Anyway, when the test results were finally made available on her electronic chart, they didn't look so good.

I wrote Dr. Holtan a note, asking her to explain the test results:

• Me: This test came back positive, and it was negative in past bone marrow biopsies. What does it mean?
• Dr. Holtan: The result is actually negative. It was entered into the system incorrectly by the lab. The scanned in result from the diagnostics company is clearly negative. I sent a message to the lab to correct it last week, but it looks like they have not gotten to it yet. Rest easy,
• Pam: Thank you for getting back so quickly. It was a bit of a worry, so now I know I don't have to be concerned. You're great, Dr. Holtan. Thank you for your care.

Publishing Schedule

I will continue to update this blog fairly semi-regularly, but feel free to participate in two-way communication.  Some options:

• Call me at 425 223 3385.  (My Google Voice number, it will always find me.)  This includes you, Dad. Or call Pam at 503 939 3106.
• Email me. (probably not you, Dad)
• Text me* or Pam
• Message me or Pam on facebook**. 
• Send a direct message to @HendersonPDX on Twitter***.

*I am not a huge fan of texting. It seems useful for a short message if I think the textee will be busy.  Not good for back and forth communication.  Hard to beat actually picking up the phone and talking to someone.
**Facebook actually kind of sucks. I don't like it. My sister, Chelle, is a Facebook Maven.  She knows everything that is useful and not useful to know about everyone because of Facebook.  I just can't get into it. I have an account, I look at it.
***Twitter rocks.