Good vibes at Mt. Sinai

Yair and Mechal are the proud parents of Hadassa, Gedaliah, and baby Yaakov Aaron. Yair is the middle son of my dear dear cousin-cum-daughter Sylvia. She still lives in Brooklyn, but two of her sons, Yair and Noam, have moved to Israel. Ari, her third son, lives near Detroit with his wife and children. It's wonderful to see these growing and thriving families.

Dear Family and Friends,

It is always good to hear from family, distant or nearby. Seeing these beautiful children brings a smile to my face. Just yesterday, on the train from NYC, I was pointing out to Merwin the old horse farm where I had stopped by to see the horses with Hadassa, who was visiting Glen Head with Sylvia. The horses poked their heads out of their stalls, very eager to see us and be petted. It was a magic moment, and a fleeting one because, soon after, this horse farm that had been there for years, maybe 75! had been sold and is becoming yet another landscape farm. Happy memories, tinged with sadness because I can only hope that we will see Sylvia's family when they come to Brooklyn.

Yesterday was an arduous Mt. Sinai day, but we are becoming comfortable there, greeted with smiles and hugs. My platelets are up again, which is a good thing, and the WBC is high as usual but no worse than it has been recently. I am dealing with the side effects of the meds. Itching is the main thing, but this recent bout started the day before I began CEP-701. I can learn to handle the nausea better. In all it was an up meeting, with five of us jammed into a little examining room, and these young medical people wanting to know about us, how we met, how long we have been married, etc. We brought out some of our old chestnuts, but without being wearisome. Dr. M. believes this med will extend my life. I am for that. He thinks I'll even be able to consider traveling again. That would be amazing.

Of course we traveled into NYC, leaving the house at 8:20 a.m. and returning at about 4 p.m. We got to the city in time for our 11:00 appointment: just. Then a couple of hours of the usual routine and then home. Lots of walking to get to and from subways and between subways and hospital. A good workout.

At home we both felt happy. I made Winnie-the-pooh for Merwin, and if you want to see a contented man, it is Merwin dipping his toast into the egg yoke. Then we decided to try "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on TV. After about 45 minutes, I could stand it no longer and I said, "I am bored by this movie." Merwin looked at me in wonder and said "Me, too." We were both hanging on, thinking the other was enjoying it. How's that for togetherness? And so to bed.

Love,
Bernice