Going Home

The Blood Numbers are Good

Harry will be home tonight.  Yes, his numbers are that good!

Let me answer some basic questions right at the outset:

First, Harry still has cancer.  While we appreciate the congratulations, he is not magically cured.  He is just doing well enough to leave the hospital, mostly for insurance reasons.  He has a very long road of chemotherapy ahead, three and a half  years in total.

That being said, we are all very excited about Harry going home.  It is wonderful that he will be in his own bed tonight.

But primarily this is what is changing: he will be in his own bed and outside the hospital. We are very grateful.

The rest remains the same: the chemo, IV drips, triple injections, and weekly spinal taps, will be par for the course the next few weeks, and over the next seven months.  No biking camp, nor business camp at Palo Alto for Harry. And we need to keep an eye on his temperature, his blood counts, and the like.  So please don't ask what he plans to do this summer.  The answer is chemo.

His 4 am blood results:

Normal                      Harry
Hemoglobin  12-16     Harry 14.9
Platelets 150-350        Harry  272
WBC  5000-10000    Harry 6060

Harry is in the normal range for all counts!  What this means is that his platelets show that, should he get cut, punched or fall off his bike, his blood should clot and emergency treatment will not be needed.  The WBC shows that he is at little risk of infection as of now and can be out in public.  This could change and change dramatically as he undergoes more chemo.

But we still need to take precautions: he should not be in contact with anyone who may be ill, and we need anyone who sees him to wash their hands or use Purell when you visit.

Father's Day Brunch

Ken's cousins, the Liebowitz's & the Kay's came by for Sunday brunch, bringing bagels, lox & all the accompaniments:

And the nurses gave Harry another triple shot of chemo:

And it was spirit day, so Harry had a tutu send off.

The Donvans

One day a song needs to be written to John Donvan and Ranit Mishori to thank them for all they have done the last few weeks.  That will have to wait for an appropriate lyricist.  In the meantime, I cannot thank John enough for moving us out today, including Harry's famed bike equipment and the now famous Wahoo Kickr, donated by Jeremy Fand, and the great guys on Skippy's Team and Team Velo 5.  Here, John is being helped by Christopher Lombardi of CNMC, also a cyclist:

After arriving home, Harry & Ken went down to Revolution Cycle to get some repairs done on Harry's other bikes.  Then, we had a traditional Japanese dinner at Izakaya Seki.

Happy Father's Day.