This week has been exciting for two reasons. Jim has had a small series of such good days it was almost possible to forget he was ill. Then on Monday, we went in to have them harvest his dendritic cells, which will be the prime ingredient in the clinical trial vaccine they will concoct especially for him.
(when did "exciting days" become a day you watch someone circulate their blood through a machine? I've known exciting days in the past, and this ain't one of them! The helicopter ride in Tokyo... that was exciting. Winning a vacation to Caneel Bay... that was exciting. But this.... it's like suddenly having ownership of a used pick-up truck become your secret dream. May I ask for a recount, please?)
The way it works is that the dendritic cells stimulate the patient's immune system, which produces special cells that kill cancer cells and prevent relapses of the cancer. This vaccine research represents some of the best work being done in this field. This is phase 2 of the testing of this company's dendritic vaccine approach.
Jim was only there from 8am to noon, and sat in a bed with something similar to a dialysis machine hooked up to both arms. They removed blood through a simple Heparin lock from his left arm, emptied it into a centrifuge, and the dendritic cells were collected in a bag right above the machine. He ate an omelet while this was going on, chatted and rested, but over-all it was no big deal. This is the same set-up they will use in a month to collect his stem cells. Remarkable in its very "ordinary-ness". This all feels like some fantastic dream. Note to self: get out the "Alice in Wonderland" book and re-read it.
Nine-year-old Joe made Jim a Valentine, a cute little heart mounted on a popsicle stick. Today Lynn ran into his teacher who recounted being so moved by the card she fled the classroom in tears. When Joe brought it home, Kathryn was aghast, as big sisters like to be.
"You can't say that to him!!" she admonished. So Joe threw the valentine in the trash. But Lynn knew her dad AND her son best of all, and reclaimed the card, which came straight from Joe's heart. And she brought it to Jim.
In crooked printing, it read, "Grampy, I hope this won't be your last Valentine's Day."
And Jim chuckled in appreciation, as Lynn knew he would, and said "ya, me too!!"
4 comments:
Love it...Quite a little lesson in there. And Joe really is a Muckerheide.
~L
HA!! This is the same kid who at approx 4 yrs. said to Grammy while cuddling her on a cold moring in bed...
"Hey Grammy? When I'm 19, will you (pause) oh... wait, You'll be dead. Nevermind."
Yes, Exactly! THAT kid.
Like I said...always a charmer. No Malice, just says-it-like-it-is.
A Muckerheide;o)
Only from the mouth and heart of a child....
I can SO picture his face as Kath dis'd his gift. :( So glad you salvaged it and delivered it to it's intended recipient. No matter what it said - its spoke volumes that he chose to make one for Grampy out of all his family members!
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