First off, I want to say how awesome it is when friends let you crash with them for a night. Its so generous to let you just come in and take up their space. BUT, is there seriously anything more awkward then waking up while they're still asleep and not knowing what to do with yourself?
Puppy-walking habits had me up at 7am this morning and I've been tip-toeing around the place ever since. I was going to make coffee, but couldn't locate filters (apparently they're fancy machine doesn't need em). I debated going out to grab coffee and bagels for my hosts, but didn't know which key to take. And I didn't want to turn on the TV or take a shower out of fear of waking up those sleepy heads.
Oh well, at least I'm up in time for Phish Summer Tour public sale. Berkeley Greek Theater tickets, you will be mine.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
NYC Eats
Is it bad that it's only Tuesday and I've already planned out where/what I'll be eating for almost every meal when I'm in NYC this weekend? Blame my weakness for Food Network and the fact that I'm seeing Emily who is probably a bigger foodie than me.
So far planned stops:
Thursday night dinner - The Smith - East Village
Gael Greene says the Mac n Cheese is to die for. Oh and they have a little appetizer called BRAISED BACON w red onion marmalade on the menu. Yes please.
Friday lunch:
Ace Hotel. Apparently pretty cool lil sandwich shop in there.
Then off to the Bronx zoo! No, I will not be eating the animals. Just observing the adorable baby ones!
Friday dinner:
Somewhere w Bridget - TBD - any UES dining recs, people? I have a distinct feeling this could end up being more drinking than eating, knowing Fidge.
Saturday (any meal!):
Stand - Greenwich Village
Michael Symon says the Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake there is one of "The Best Things I Ever Ate" and according to everything I've read on the interweb, he's not the only one that thinks so.
Of course I'll be getting a nice slice and a big ole bagel at some point while I'm there for sure. And I'll swing by my fave, Butterlane on my way out of the city to snag some cupcakes to bring to Mom's for Easter dinner.
Gah, that's alot of eating. But its supposed to be loverly this weekend, so I'm sure I'll walk it all off. Right? RIGHT?
So far planned stops:
Thursday night dinner - The Smith - East Village
Gael Greene says the Mac n Cheese is to die for. Oh and they have a little appetizer called BRAISED BACON w red onion marmalade on the menu. Yes please.
Friday lunch:
Ace Hotel. Apparently pretty cool lil sandwich shop in there.
Then off to the Bronx zoo! No, I will not be eating the animals. Just observing the adorable baby ones!
Friday dinner:
Somewhere w Bridget - TBD - any UES dining recs, people? I have a distinct feeling this could end up being more drinking than eating, knowing Fidge.
Saturday (any meal!):
Stand - Greenwich Village
Michael Symon says the Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake there is one of "The Best Things I Ever Ate" and according to everything I've read on the interweb, he's not the only one that thinks so.
Of course I'll be getting a nice slice and a big ole bagel at some point while I'm there for sure. And I'll swing by my fave, Butterlane on my way out of the city to snag some cupcakes to bring to Mom's for Easter dinner.
Gah, that's alot of eating. But its supposed to be loverly this weekend, so I'm sure I'll walk it all off. Right? RIGHT?
Monday, March 29, 2010
annnd I'm back...
Well so much for using this blog to keep everyone updated on my transplant process. Yeah, kinda dropped the ball on that one. Its been a smidge over 6 months now, and I'm doing as well as could be hoped at this point. I got results of my 6 mo follow up tests last Thursday, and I'm happy to report that there is currently no leukemia cells in my blood and that I've completely 'taken' my donor's marrow. I do have a bit of GVHD (graft vs host disease) which is fairly common post transplant. In fact a little bit of it is good, bc it means my immune system is actually working and recognizes I have something foreign in my body. But its not totally rejecting it, obviously a good thing. So the docs are monitoring me weekly at the Hop, and they have me on a pretty hefty dose of steroids at the moment to keep the GVHD in check. Which is making me really wired, BTW. Prob what motivated me to start blogging again...
So moral of the story: am I cured? am I in the clear? Not per say. But my news was as good as I could have hoped for. And I have a giant weight lifted off my shoulders for a while. I'm cautiously optimistic. And with the good news I feel like I can actually live a bit before my next big set of tests in September. With that said some fun stuff on the horizon:
Visiting Em and Fidge in NYC this weekend!
Yoga class!
Kickball!
O's Opening Day!
Hanging out on my new roofdeck!
Hopkins Fair!
Going to Nashville in May for Steeplechase and playing w Kat!
Anthony Bourdain @ the Hippodrome!
Steamed Crabs!
Phish Summer Tour! (BTW, hey Phish ticket lottery, did I get my Greek Theater tickets or not??)
Obviously there's still going to be a lot of resting in there. I'm not going to be 100% for at least a year according to the docs. I'm working part time in my dad's office but I should prob start working on figuring out a "real job" but that will come in time.
A big regret has been not writing on this blog during all this down time. I mean I wish I even wrote a sentence a day, just to document for my own purposes. With that said, I really will try to put something on here at least once a week. Hey, its on my iPhone calendar now. So it clearly has to happen.
M
So moral of the story: am I cured? am I in the clear? Not per say. But my news was as good as I could have hoped for. And I have a giant weight lifted off my shoulders for a while. I'm cautiously optimistic. And with the good news I feel like I can actually live a bit before my next big set of tests in September. With that said some fun stuff on the horizon:
Visiting Em and Fidge in NYC this weekend!
Yoga class!
Kickball!
O's Opening Day!
Hanging out on my new roofdeck!
Hopkins Fair!
Going to Nashville in May for Steeplechase and playing w Kat!
Anthony Bourdain @ the Hippodrome!
Steamed Crabs!
Phish Summer Tour! (BTW, hey Phish ticket lottery, did I get my Greek Theater tickets or not??)
Obviously there's still going to be a lot of resting in there. I'm not going to be 100% for at least a year according to the docs. I'm working part time in my dad's office but I should prob start working on figuring out a "real job" but that will come in time.
A big regret has been not writing on this blog during all this down time. I mean I wish I even wrote a sentence a day, just to document for my own purposes. With that said, I really will try to put something on here at least once a week. Hey, its on my iPhone calendar now. So it clearly has to happen.
M
Thursday, September 17, 2009
happy birthday to me
my nurse lisa tells me that many people consider the day you get your bone marrow transplant to be your new birthday. well i got my transplant at 4am this morning so happy birthday to me.
to be honest, i really feel terrible, and i know i have a long long way to go before i even feel remotely myself. but ive been getting your emails/texts/comments so i wanted you to let know im hanging in.
love, m.
to be honest, i really feel terrible, and i know i have a long long way to go before i even feel remotely myself. but ive been getting your emails/texts/comments so i wanted you to let know im hanging in.
love, m.
Monday, September 14, 2009
ugh
My game plan coming in here was to write these witty funny blog posts every single day. But I didn't realize how much this chemo would completely kick my ass. With that said, there not be full posts for a couple days, but know that I'm ok and that everything I'm going through is normal.
M
M
Friday, September 11, 2009
getting settled in... Hospital Stay Day 1 & 2
Well I've finally found some time to write my 1st blog post since checking into the Hop. You'd think I'd have nothing BUT time sitting around here in the hospital, but the last 2 days have actually been pretty eventful. To give you a rundown...
First of all, I barely got any sleep on Wednesday night. You'd assume it was because I was nervous. But honestly I was really just upset over the prospect of not seeing my silly puppy Lucy for 5 whole weeks. I haven't been apart for her for longer than a week EVER. But I know Luce will be fine b/c she's being watched by her Aunt Devon, who loves her ALMOST as much as I do.
My dad was supposed to come pick me up a little after 7am to take me to Hopkins. He showed up at 6. Clearly someone else was having problems sleeping too. We got to Hop and went to the Interventional Radiology section of the hospital to get a Hickman catheter inserted in my chest. Its through this line that I'll get my chemo, fluids, and transplant itself. The procedure itself was pretty freaky since there was no anesthesia and I was only numbed locally. But the staff there couldn't have been nicer and let me listen to music to calm my nerves. The whole thing is a bit of a blur b/c they gave me some 'happy drugs' but I'm pretty sure we listened to Motown. Which always puts a smile on my face. (Also putting a smile on my face: the large dose of Oxycodone I'm on for pain in shoulder from surgery.)
I was wheeled up to my new home in the Weinberg Building to recover and hang out for a while. And I have to say, the room really isn't bad. I've been told this is actually one of the 4 'big rooms'. So lucky me! I took sometime to unpack and am pretty settled. Below is a pic of my sitting area:
For lunch I got my first hospital meal. And it lived up to the hype - terrible. Luckily my dad ran down the Einstein Bros Bagel place in the cafeteria and fetched me my fave - honey whole wheat bagel w light cream cheese and tomato. mmmm!
In the mid-late afternoon yesterday I started chemo - Busulfan - and I've been getting an IV drip of it fairly consistently since. So far its just made me feel sleepy, and a little loopy. Had a wee bit of nausea but they gave me some magical pill that nipped that in the bud pretty quick. I'm on this protocol through Tuesday so I guess I should get used to it.
Really the biggest issue so far is lack of sleep. Its not that I can't FALL ASLEEP. But they have to wake me every 4 hours for vital signs (which includes a bunch of questions to tell if I'm cognitive - like 'what day is it' and 'was 32 minue 6'). Also everytime I start a new drug, they take a blood sample once an hour to see if they need to adjust my dose. So no real sleep for Mia.
Well what have I been doing to entertain myself. So far:
Watched 3 Netflix including:
Little Giants (classic!)
One Tree Hill Season 5 Disc 5 (go ahead and mock me - you know you love Chad Michael Murray too!)
Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3, Disc 1 (specifically decided to start w this season bc it has the 'Donna Martin Graduates' ep)
Started reading 'Touchdown Jesus. Faith and Fandom at Notre Dame' to get psyched for tomorrow's game against Michigan
Did a handful of puzzles from the New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus
Played 'Words with Friends' on my iPhone w Evan and Nick (download app if you have an iPhone and play w me too!)
Napped (multiple mini naps)
Pretended to eat crappy hospital food
And thats about it.
What I'd be doing tonight if I wasn't in the hospital:
Disco Biscuits @ the Hippodrome, Fortune5Fifty Aftershow party
What I'll be doing instead:
Listening to 4/4/09 Disco Biscuits Crystal Bay Casino show, eating pudding, doing crossword puzzles
So thats it so far. I'll keep y'all posted, and I promise it won't all be medical stuff.
First of all, I barely got any sleep on Wednesday night. You'd assume it was because I was nervous. But honestly I was really just upset over the prospect of not seeing my silly puppy Lucy for 5 whole weeks. I haven't been apart for her for longer than a week EVER. But I know Luce will be fine b/c she's being watched by her Aunt Devon, who loves her ALMOST as much as I do.
My dad was supposed to come pick me up a little after 7am to take me to Hopkins. He showed up at 6. Clearly someone else was having problems sleeping too. We got to Hop and went to the Interventional Radiology section of the hospital to get a Hickman catheter inserted in my chest. Its through this line that I'll get my chemo, fluids, and transplant itself. The procedure itself was pretty freaky since there was no anesthesia and I was only numbed locally. But the staff there couldn't have been nicer and let me listen to music to calm my nerves. The whole thing is a bit of a blur b/c they gave me some 'happy drugs' but I'm pretty sure we listened to Motown. Which always puts a smile on my face. (Also putting a smile on my face: the large dose of Oxycodone I'm on for pain in shoulder from surgery.)
I was wheeled up to my new home in the Weinberg Building to recover and hang out for a while. And I have to say, the room really isn't bad. I've been told this is actually one of the 4 'big rooms'. So lucky me! I took sometime to unpack and am pretty settled. Below is a pic of my sitting area:
For lunch I got my first hospital meal. And it lived up to the hype - terrible. Luckily my dad ran down the Einstein Bros Bagel place in the cafeteria and fetched me my fave - honey whole wheat bagel w light cream cheese and tomato. mmmm!
In the mid-late afternoon yesterday I started chemo - Busulfan - and I've been getting an IV drip of it fairly consistently since. So far its just made me feel sleepy, and a little loopy. Had a wee bit of nausea but they gave me some magical pill that nipped that in the bud pretty quick. I'm on this protocol through Tuesday so I guess I should get used to it.
Really the biggest issue so far is lack of sleep. Its not that I can't FALL ASLEEP. But they have to wake me every 4 hours for vital signs (which includes a bunch of questions to tell if I'm cognitive - like 'what day is it' and 'was 32 minue 6'). Also everytime I start a new drug, they take a blood sample once an hour to see if they need to adjust my dose. So no real sleep for Mia.
Well what have I been doing to entertain myself. So far:
Watched 3 Netflix including:
Little Giants (classic!)
One Tree Hill Season 5 Disc 5 (go ahead and mock me - you know you love Chad Michael Murray too!)
Beverly Hills 90210 Season 3, Disc 1 (specifically decided to start w this season bc it has the 'Donna Martin Graduates' ep)
Started reading 'Touchdown Jesus. Faith and Fandom at Notre Dame' to get psyched for tomorrow's game against Michigan
Did a handful of puzzles from the New York Times Ultimate Crossword Omnibus
Played 'Words with Friends' on my iPhone w Evan and Nick (download app if you have an iPhone and play w me too!)
Napped (multiple mini naps)
Pretended to eat crappy hospital food
And thats about it.
What I'd be doing tonight if I wasn't in the hospital:
Disco Biscuits @ the Hippodrome, Fortune5Fifty Aftershow party
What I'll be doing instead:
Listening to 4/4/09 Disco Biscuits Crystal Bay Casino show, eating pudding, doing crossword puzzles
So thats it so far. I'll keep y'all posted, and I promise it won't all be medical stuff.
Monday, August 31, 2009
and i'm back...
Well its been 6 months but I'm finally back to my poor neglected blog. Unfortunately with the advent of Twitter, Notorious M.I.A. fell by the wayside, becoming the red-headed step child of all my social media endeavors. But with my impending bone marrow transplant and the 2 months of essential 'girl in a bubble-ness' that will come with it, I figured its time to return to the blogosphere so I can a) keep my friends/fam in the know about my health and b) I can do my best to keep myself from going batty with boredom. So stayed tuned kiddies...
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