Note from Stacey

Mary, thanks for your note and your encouragement! I am at the hospital again for a blood draw. I am getting used to them and do not mind being poked that much. Tomorrow, I will come back to the hospital for a clinic day. I will have more tests, including a Pulmonary Function Test. I’ll see the doctors and I’ll keep you all up to date on the progress. Dave (my housemate and caregiver after the transplant) was in the hospital last week with Crohn’s disease. Since it is not contagious, I was able to visit him three times. (I wore a mask while I was in the hospital and was very careful to wash my hands of any germs from the hospital.) Dave got out of the hospital yesterday and is recovering at his parent’s home. His spirits seem to be okay, and he is eager to go back to work. I am at the hospital cybercafe. I have so many memories of this place. Mostly I remember not being able to sleep because of frequent visits to my room, and early morning noise. But there are good things, too. I remember some very meaningful and deep visits with family and friends. It was a time of need that brought out the best in people. That support that people mustered from their busy lives was crucial to my survival. The Stanford hospital music and art therapy programs are also very good, as well as the dog-visiting program. A guitarist came to my room, and the art therapist was very loving. Funny-looking dogs came to visit. (None as cute as Isa’s dog, Rupie, however.)Beautiful art lines the walls, and there are gorgeous fountains and flower gardens outside. The doctors are kind and knowledgeable, and they used to visit every morning. I am grateful to be a Stanford patient. Stacey, from Belmont