Another week flew by. All visitors left a week ago, and so did Edna who went for a week to Israel (as I write this she reported landing back at Newark, and will soon be back here!). I stayed at home with Yuval for the week. This quality time was spent on walks, biking, museums, movies, and long chats on everything, including math! We went a few times to restaurants, something I started gently about 2 weeks ago. Like movies we try to go to places at times that are relatively sparsely populated, although we don't always succeed. And like museums, I wear my mask, except when eating... Of course I eat only cooked food, but there is plenty to choose from. Yuval also cooked most evenings. Unlike his siblings who were always into cooking, for him this is a relatively new hobby, but he is a quick study and it was all yummy!
My blood numbers are improving, and I am keep getting stronger physically. Even my fatigue is getting better slowly, and I can concentrate for longer periods. I returned to reading books again after a very long time. If there are no surprises this coming week it looks like we will go home to Princeton next weekend!!
As most major things are getting better all the time, faster than expected, I did not complain about anything for a while. As this blog is supposed to be a record of everything, let me indulge in that for one paragraph. I mentioned neuropathy in the post on “minor" side effects of the many chemotherapies and other treatments I got. For me, this meant that I almost lost my sense of touch in the tips of my fingers, my toes and the front of my feet. I predicted in that post that this is one side effect that may not go away. I had it for almost two years now, and it did not change much for a long time. Well, it got worse in the past couple of weeks, mainly in my feet. It seems that my nerves there extended their malfunctions from simply not sending signals – numbness – to sending incorrect signals – heat waves. Especially at night but not only, I feel that my feet are on fire, and even worse, that hot needles are pricking my feet. But really they are not hot at all... This is not fun, and makes it hard falling asleep, and wakes me up. Short term, I got some medication that numbs the nerves – I take it at night and it is easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. Long term, it is not clear, and I will probably seek expert advice. The doctors hope this burning sensation will fade, possibly after the swelling in my feet (another side effect of the tons of liquids one gets with chemotherapy, and has been there since the transplant) will disappear. We'll see.
OK, this complaining paragraph was a bit longer than planned. Switching back to a cheerful note – a new year has started, and we raise a toast (as you see in the picture) to all readers of this blog, and wish you all a Happy New Year!
