Guilt Trip

Dori is feeling better today after receiving her port Friday. The surgery caused discomfort and some pain, which slowly has abated over the weekend. The port over the right side of her chest will allow her to receive Vidaza therapy easier; the PICC line in her right arm, which can be mildly cumbersome, is gone. I'm sure Dori is glad to lose the latter, which I've been cleaning nearly every day since her hospital discharge in late summer.

Friday night was awkward, even hard, for me. Dori was wiped and could not attend a party some friends threw for a few families and kids. The food was great and people were nice, but I didn't really want to be there. I was glad the kids had fun, but I wasn't up for "small talk" and thought constantly of Dori, who was at home resting in bed. When she called after dinner and said she need extra strength Tylenol, that hurt. The late-night ride to the drugstore stunk.

All of this has passed. Dori is good - no infections and she's moving around just fine. The puffiness from steroids is leaving. She is in good spirits and ready for Vidaza treatments to resume tomorrow. She'll receive Vidaza five straight days. Get ready, Hans.

Yesterday morning was glorious, and my run was equally invigorating. It was cold, just barely above freezing, before the sun popped proudly into the sky. With my friends Jim, Jack, Carey, Rhonda and about six others, we ran the Moran-Old Natchez route that is a favorite. All wore hats, and most donned gloves. Brrrrr.

Our pace was too fast at the start, maybe a nine-minute mile, so I backed off and found some friends at the back of the pack. Before we reached the five-mile turnaround, several said they needed to head back because they had a mid-morning Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recruitment meeting. Fine with me. We turned back at 4.6 miles.

With two miles to go, some front-runners dropped their pace, and I decided to catch them. I finished well. Average pace for nine-miles plus was probably 9:45/mile or thereabouts, with the last two miles around 8:30/mile. I love lattes, but they're especially good after a long run. And so are weekends.