Thursday, July 26th

Monday's blood test showed that Peter's platelet count was down to 5000, alarmingly low. As a refresher, a "normal" person has a platelet count of 150000 +. Peter received a bag of platelets immediately and his count went up to 26000 by Wednesday.

By now we are seasoned hands and  don't get overly alarmed when the blood counts spiral downward. We know what to expect. We even hope for a low count because it tells us that the chemo has done its job and has destroyed the bone marrow. By now we know that we'll be in a holding pattern until Peter's neutrophils get up to the desired levels again. He is taking antibiotics to ward off infections in this vulnerable time.

Jarrod from Rosemont Market had a special surprise for us today....lamb tenderloins. In spite of being wiped, Peter rallied and fired up the grill for this treat, grilling the meat to perfection alongside  local vegetables.

Our friends Bruce and Landis had arranged to have a case of very special assorted wines delivered from Rosemont Market today. Peter and I enjoyed pairing one of the wines, a full bodied Austrian red, with the meal. Yum! To Peter's delight Dr. Boyd feels it is perfectly wonderful for him to drink a glass of wine with his meals!

Since Peter is neutropenic [no white blood cells] since Monday, he tires easily and is out of breath at the slightest exertion. We keep visitors restricted to family, although even with them kisses are strictly forbidden.

Peter being Peter, he tackles this low point remarkably well, taking short walks, puttering around the garden and helping me with this and that around the house. I am in awe!

He also enjoys the frequent phone calls from his sons, Mark and Hai. Marie, his tart angel, and Jenepher, our neighbor across the street, have sweetened his life with their baked delicacies. Cards have trickled in, a book that an old friend from Deer Isle wrote.....Waltzing With Bracey...sent by Mary and Richard, e-mails and letters, all of this a balm in this hard time in our lives. And not to forget your regular posts on our blog which are deeply appreciated by both of us

Last Saturday, after 5 days of chemo, Dr. Boyd let me go and wait for the Neutrophils to drop in our beautiful home/garden rather than in the hospital. 

Jutta has been taking loving care of me and won’t even let me brew my own coffee in the morning – I don’t argue too much about being spoiled and enjoy it while it lasts. 

Jutta does however let me fire up the grill and we’ve enjoyed delicious dinners al fresco every single day. She is also putting up with my occasional grumpiness that seems to overcome me once in a while and for which I really feel very badly.




I expect that in a few days my blood values will hit bottom and then start climbing again as the bone marrow is producing new and hopefully healthy cells. Except for some dizziness, I am feeling very well and quite strong. For the time being I am trying not to think too often about the coming round 4 but know of course that it needs to be done and get it over with.

Today, Ciara and Ysanne, Heidis’ twin girls are celebrating their sweet 16 and we are all going out for lunch together. Afterwards we plan to take a walk on Ferry Beach.

We continue to receive so many heartwarming signs of love and support from family and friends and would like to thank all of you for helping us get through this difficult time, it feels so good to be loved. 

Sunday, July 15th

Dr. Boyd let Peter go home yesterday. Here he is around 3 o'clock, happy to have traded The Ballroom at Maine Med with our oasis filled with flowers and birdsong. It was a scorching hot day with the temperatures in the 90's!

In about 4 weeks Peter will be going back for a fourth round. It will be a tough one this time, but he is committed to face the challenge in order to stay in remission.

I spoke with the nurses and they reassured me that the treatment won't be as hard on Peter as the first round. He will lose his hair again though.

As we were leaving the hospital yesterday, I took a picture of Peter's constant companion, "Patient Pal". I can't help but wonder who came up with that name.

When we arrived at home, our friend Avy who had been visiting for a few days, was there to help us unload the car.

Peter wanted to grill hamburgers for dinner. We enjoyed his and Avy's favorite meal eating in the garden on that hot summer evening. As you can see the two of them were in no mood to pose with those juicy burgers on their plates!

As I am writing Peter is already sound asleep and I will join my beloved shortly. It has been an eventful week.

Here is my dear brave sweet Peter on Monday morning before going back to Maine Med.

We got up early so we could, for one last time before being sequestered again, enjoy our morning ritual of breakfast and the Times.

Monday evening Peter was hooked up to the 5 day continuous chemo treatment. He is an old hand at it by now.  Peter learned not to lie on the tube connected to the pick line in his upper arm while sleeping, thus avoiding the insistent angry beeping when the flow is interrupted.

We got good news and not so good news yesterday. Dr. Boyd will release Peter after the chemo is done this time around. He will be home as he spirals down to 0 neutrophils and while we anxiously wait for them to go up again. Dr. Boyd wants him to go to the lab to have blood taken 3 times a week to monitor his progress.

I am a little nervous. The nurses assure me that it will be fine. They feel we are amazingly competent and are doing all the right things. According to them, most importantly I need to monitor Peter's temperature, wash hands frequently and no visitors  other than family while Peter is neutropenic. Re washing hands: we silently sing the birthday song while washing up. Heidi taught me that. Apparently that is how long it takes to get rid of those nasty germs.

Now to the bad news. Peter will have to go back for a 4th round. Dr. Boyd feels he is doing extremely well and will be able to tolerate the third consolidation. It's a good thing in a way because it will ensure that Peter stays in remission. He is totally ok with it. What a guy! Well, he has the entire nursing staff rooting for him that's for sure. They continue to be uplifted at how well he is doing and how we are handling the trauma we were propelled into last February.

As I said earlier, Peter was admitted to Maine Med on Monday. The Penthouse was not available, but the charge nurse put Peter into what we instantly baptized The Ballroom, a huge airy room with window fronts on two sides, even better than coveted room 561.

That evening, after Peter was hooked up to his constant companion of the coming 5 days, we had an impromptu first day of chemo dinner party with our dear friends Mary and Peter. A bit over the top even for us, don't you think? It was the perfect thing to do though. Nothing is as healing as being with people you love.

Tuesday Ciara helped me cook lunch. We made

minced chicken breast on a tarragon cream sauce, baked herbed rice and a melange of sugarsnaps, carrots and parsnips. The sugarsnaps where from Heidi's garden! Ciara loves to cook and Peter loved having her there for lunch. I took the picture when Paris picked her up later.

Yesterday Peter's tart angel, Marie, came over with a wild Maine blueberry tart! Lucian went to the farmer's market at 7:15 that morning to snatch up 2 of the 5 baskets a vendor had. Needless to say we were in seventh heaven when we cut into it for dessert that evening.

I won't see Peter until late afternoon today since Heidi brought breakfast [ she alternates with Mary] and Paris just picked up lunch to have with her Opa. This gives me a chance to take care of house and garden and to run a couple of errands.

As always, thank you for all the good wishes you send our way. Be well and enjoy life!

Friday, July 6th

Two more days at home and then it is back to Maine Med for round three.
I am going back with a very good feeling since the last bone marrow biopsy showed that I continue to be in remission and after my recovery time with Juttas’ loving care, I am feeling strong and confident. As a matter of fact, after I returned from the procedure I decided to clip the hedges around the house, it helped me to stop worrying what the result might be. Dr. Boyd called later that afternoon and of course we were happy and elated. I want to pass on a funny interlude that happened after the procedure was finished. I thanked Dr. Boyd for being gentle and not hurting me too much and remarked “and my butt also is looking better, don’t you think” since most of the red spots that I had developed from the Chemo had almost disappeared. The attending nurse gasped in surprise but Dr. Boyd very calmly remarked “we have a very special relationship” and that was that.

We celebrated the 4^th of July with Heidis’ family and they put on a great, traditional barbecue with all the trimmings. We were barely finished with our meal when the mother of all rainstorms descended on us and made us flee inside.
Another highlight happened this morning: I played 3 games of tennis. My friends were kind enough to let me play on the shady side of the court and it felt so good to hit the ball again, the first time since I was diagnosed back in February.
We are grateful for the positive development and for all the support we continue to receive from family and friends. Thank you, thank you.

Sighting at Eastern Prom recently

Monday, July 2nd

Peter and I sat in the sunroom last evening listening to the rain which brought relief from a few days of oppressive heat. It smelled so good. We smiled at the excited chatter of the birds and remembered another hot summer day. Peter had directed the spray of the sprinkler on a tree in the backyard when suddenly 3 or 4 birds decided to take a shower. Chirping excitedly they flew in and out of the water like a bunch of kids, to come to rest on branches flapping their wings and shaking their heads water swirling around them every which way.


Unfortunately our summer idyll will be interrupted soon. After 41/2 weeks at home Peter will be readmitted to Maine Med on July 9th for another round, hopefully the last one. Tomorrow he will go in for a bone marrow biopsy to determine if he is still in remission. He is understandably anxious. We both are as we continue on our roller coaster existence.

We have had wonderful times the past few weeks with friends from far away visiting and of course friends close by. Although tiring easily at times, Peter has enjoyed connecting with everyone.

Our friend Heiner Thorborg from Germany was here last weekend. He and Peter met 33 years ago when they attended a 3 month intensive Senior Management Program [SMP] which Harvard held at Mont Pellerin, Switzerland. The managers attending the demanding and exciting program were employed by large companies all over the world. Heiner lived in South Africa at the time.

As I said, they met 33 years ago....1979, a memorable year. The year started by Peter having to abandon his family [so to speak!] to attend SMP for 3 months. Then, on our vacation in Brazil in July, Peter got shot by a robber. Thankfully the year had a wonderful ending with Lan and Hai coming into our lives. I turned 40 that year and Peter 45. Oh my!

In closing I want to include a picture of Tori, Ted and Julian's birthday celebration at Two Lights last Thursday. The picture is of the men plus Tori who snuck in at the last minute. It was a wonderful time in a spectacular setting.

http://lobstershacktwolights.com/