Eric & Krystle's Seattle Adventure

It's Palm Sunday and day +44 since Arnie's stem cell transplant. A special day.

This follows a special week. Our son Eric & his girlfriend Krystle came for a visit, our first company since we left Saskatoon. We have been so hungry for conversation and companionship and they arrived at the perfect time. Arnie is feeling much better and is able to get out and do a few things again. The timing couldn't have been better.

Eric & Krystle had three and a half days with us in Seattle. They were very excited to be leaving the cold of Saskatoon for the milder weather of Seattle, but as Robbie Burns says "the best laid plans gang aft a-gley". They were greeted with two days of solid grey clouds and a deluge of freezing cold rain. This was not the gentle Seattle drizzle Arnie & I have experienced; this was a downpour of Biblical proportions complete with occasional flecks of snow. Undaunted the first morning, the four of us trudged to the Science Fiction Museum to tour it together. Arnie & I took time to rest in the afternoon and the four of us met later for supper and a visit at our apartment. On the second day of their visit, Krystle & Eric developed an impressive bout of GI discombobulation. Let's just say, Krystle will not be yearning for clam chowder any time soon. To protect Arnie's health, Eric & Krystle spent the day away from us, resting and recovering. Was it a virus or food poisoning? I don't think we will ever know for sure. By Friday morning, the rain stopped, the sun came out and our visitors could face solid food again. Yahooo!!! We spent our last day together touring the SCCA clinic and wandering through our neighbourhood. It was so sad to see them leave but we have only 56 days till we can head home to be with them again.

On Tuesday, Arnie started ganciclovir, a new medication to treat CMV or cytomegalovirus. Both Arnie and his stem cell donor had been exposed to this virus in the past. The virus lay dormant in his body until Arnie began taking prednisone to treat his GVHD (graft versus host disease). The additional immunosupression from the prednisone allowed the CMV to 'reactivate'. The clinic staff were screening Arnie's blood work, looking for this possible problem. Once they saw signs of CMV in his blood again, they started the new medication. Ganciclovir is an intravenous medication that must be given twice a day through his Hickman catheter. The drug was delivered to our apartment, prepared in an 'elastomeric pump device' which is a cool little doohickey my pharmacy friends would find interesting. So far, the addition of this new medication hasn't caused Arnie any problems.

On the 'fun side' of our life, Arnie & I recently discovered the Seattle street car also known as the South Lake Union Trolley. (Yes we rode the S.L.U.T.) The route starts close to the SCCA clinic and ends in the downtown retail core. We have no real interest in shopping but it's nice to have the option of zipping down to the center of town to see the sites. We also discovered a movie theatre on the 4th floor of one downtown shopping mall. Arnie received the OK to go to matinees as long as they are poorly attended. We are still avoiding crowds. Think of us on a Tuesday afternoon at an unpopular movie. This afternoon, we walked around the University of Washington district and paid a visit to the university bookstore.

Thanks to all for your notes and calls, your prayers and good vibes. We are so grateful for your support. We think of you often and are sending you our love.
Arnie & Brenda