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March 30, 2008
Opening Day
Anyone who knows me knows I love baseball. I can’t throw the ball to save my life, was never a little league star, and was only okay as a little league coach, but adore the game. Fortunately, so does Deb and that means the kids grew up to become fans, too.
Kate has split her affinity between her lifetime loyalty to the New York Mets and, given the geography, the Washington Nationals. Robbie, interestingly enough, splits his interest between the Mets and the Los Angeles Dodges (largely from hearing about its New York legacy).
This year, the baseball season begins tonight. I object to the message it sends to the viewers, especially the loyal fans under the age of 15, who are most likely unable to see the first game in its entirety since it starts after 8 p.m. this evening. (Yes, I know about the two games in China – a wonderful outreach program and their 6 a.m. starting times can be easily forgiven.)
Hope springs eternal and we all hope our team has a chance to win it all. The Mets are poised for a stronger season than last year with a sharper bullpen and Johann Santana leading the rotation. One cannot deny the Spring rash injuries being a portent of things to come as our stud hitters, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, battle injury and age. We just have to cross our fingers and root, root, root for the home team.
At one point or another, we’ve all played Fantasy Baseball. Deb was briefly an owner in the Federal League while this season, Robbie and Kate are in separate Yahoo leagues. Last night, I attended the auction for the Federal League and had a great time. I love this aspect of the league and it’s the one time we’re all together (albeit, this year we had three on conference call). Robbie did a great job filling in for Peter Hamboussi and overall I think I have a competitive team.
I’m very pysched for the season.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:20 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 29, 2008
Week Eleven
He’s home again. Round three went entirely without incident despite warnings on day one that the intensification was likely to bring about fevers as the week wore on. Instead, he had absolutely no side effects. He was tired more easily and his appetite waned a bit but he was chipper and active all week long.
There, were, of course, some highlights.
His most frequent nurse this week, Sarah, was a real task master. Once he settled back onto 7-West, the two reviewed his course of treatment and when things would occur. He didn’t want an IV overnight so they settled on his much liquid he had to consume during the day to be properly hydrated. For this course of chemo, being hydrated was essential and it became a running gag throughout the week.
He woke early Wednesday because he forgot to close his shade and decided that he wanted breakfast, but not the options available in the hospital. Since we're not sleeping there this week at his request, he was on his own. So he showered, dressed and took his handy-dandy Dunkin Donuts gift card downstairs to the lobby. Then he walked around till he overheard some reputable looking person saying that they were heading down the block to get some coffee. When a likely looking suspect, oh, doctor, appeared, he approached, explained his situation and was rewarded for his enterprise by a breakfast sandwich and French vanilla coffee.
All the nurses were on his case about drinking liquids and peeing, even the ones not assigned to him. His nurse Laura got on him early and relentlessly, going so far as to attach a blue balloon to his back that read, “I Need to Drink More”. By the time we arrived that morning, every nurse on the floor had joined in the fun and he couldn’t go five feet without someone bringing it up.
His oncology team has been thrilled with how well he‘s handled rounds two and three and remain cautiously optimistic the final two rounds will go equally well.
Because his blood counts have yet to drop, and won’t for several more days, he’s been cleared to have a “normal” schedule. That means I bring him to Long Island today for the Federal League’s fantasy baseball draft where he will act as surrogate for former DC colleague Peter Hamboussi. And he’ll make it to Mass tomorrow. Most of all, he wants to see a movie in a movie theater so that’s for tomorrow.
We’re, of course, delighted with the progress.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 11:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 28, 2008
Dakota
A tough year has gotten tougher. Last night, we had to put our 10 year dog, Dakota, to sleep.
We had lost our first family pet, a dog named Spooky, while I was at the Chicago Comicon. He had mysterious internal injuries and he left us way too soon. No sooner did we return from a vacation, than the kids insisted we find a new pup.
As Kate explained over at her blog, “I found him after spending a few weeks of my summer with the phone book in my lap on the steps at the front of the house. I sat on those steps with the cordless phone and called all the shelters and vets within the county and then I started to move outside the county when that wasn't working. Finally, one of the vets directed me to a woman who saved pregnant dogs and puppies from kill shelters. She had a mother with a whole litter. When I called, she had one puppy left. That tiny rat of a dog would grow up to be my 75 lb. hunk o' enthusiastic love, Dakota.”
He loved being with us and when it was clear he was lonely when we were gone, and therefore prone to trouble, he was coupled with a pup named Dixie. Still, the kids loved Dakota; their friends loved him, too.
Growing up, he was playful and sought love and affection. As he aged, he grew territorial, making our home an unwelcome place for other dogs. Maybe he didn’t want to share the humans (or the food), but other than that, he was loving and loveable.
He was also strong-willed. He never quite got the Invisible Fence training. Dakota would stand in the field, his collar buzzing and shocking him and he’d yelp, but he was determined to bark at whatever captured his attention on the other side of the fence. If he could, he’d crawl under our fences or break through the Invisible Fence. His walkabouts had grown worrisome but whenever we found him, he gleefully jumped into our car for a ride.
Dakota was smart, figuring out how to open cabinet doors or garbage lids making dog-proofing the house an artform. It was hard to stay mad at him as he wagged his mighty tail and wanted to be petted. He loved to sidle up for attention and gratefully accepted belly rubs.
He loved the sun. Outdoors, he would sit atop the backsteps and survey the land. Wherever the sun shone, he would lay and bask. He could stay like that for hours. Indoors, he would find a shaft of sunlight coming through the window and lay there, regardless of room.
He was also starting to age. In December he was diagnosed with arthritis in his hind legs. Anti-inflammatories helped and we began giving chondroitin to help. Still, we were surprised when he had trouble moving yesterday. He went out as usual, but was reluctant to come in nor did he eat breakfast. Later, our dog walker called to say when he tried to rise and go out; he collapsed and remained in place on the carpet.
When we returned from the hospital last night, I took him right to an emergency vet clinic in Norwalk. They examined him and came back to say that his belly felt full of fluid and when they took a sample, it was blood. An ultrasound revealed a tumor on spleen had ruptured and he was bleeding internally. This led the doctor to believe our beloved dog was suffering from an aggressive form of cancer on his spleen.
Even with surgery to remove the spleen, she said Dakota would need chemo and even then he would only have three to six months.
Given what we are already dealing with, it made no sense to keep him uncomfortable and put him through something that was short-term at best. I called Deb and discussed it and we chose to let him go.
They wheeled him back in and we sat for a few minutes. It should have been all four of us surrounding him. He should have had more time. Instead, when it was time, I petted his head and he looked around a little and then settled down. His final moments were calm and he went quickly and quietly. Despite the unfamiliar surroundings, at least he had my scent for comfort in those final moments.
The family has lost three dogs in the last decade and it’s been tough each time. Already both kids are talking about finding a new dog to raise. I’m ambivalent because this one was hard and we still have Robbie to be concerned with. Both kids’ reaction was surprising, given how both will be away from home in the coming years. We’ll see.
But for now at least I know Dakota was loved and we did right by him.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 02:42 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
March 26, 2008
This and That
This went live a few days ago and I forgot to promote it. Rick Marshall over at ComicMix has beefed up the editorial content including lots of interviews. He asked me to participate and my first, with Joe Lansdale, is available for your reading pleasure here.
So, I have three projects now delivered – Deserts, Hellboy II and Bataan Death March – and haven’t heard from my editors. I await new projects getting approved so I am having a light week, which is fine. Of course, you know what’s going to happen: all three will require revisions with overlapping deadlines and they will interfere with one or both April conventions. It’s the writer’s life.
Speaking of conventions, I await a schedule but I will be both panelist and moderator as part of the programming at the New York Comic con. The rest of the time will be spent networking, visiting with old pals and enjoying the experience. First up, though, is I-Con which is a mere week away.
Life also coasts along in town politics. We had an RTM this week and it was done in about 40 minutes. Given that we skipped one in February and had a short one now, people think I’m doing a swell job running the RTM. The reality is, there’s a lot percolating, but little has made it through the system for our approval or comment. Next month, though, is budget time so no doubt we’ll be having some late sessions.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 07:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 24, 2008
March Madness
My brother called yesterday and asked about March Madness. After all, it’s what everyone is talking about these days. The media has been filled with stories about how this has become a workplace issue with CBS streaming every game on line plus the broadcast coverage. Office betting pools are estimated in the hundreds of millions, a new record.
To me, though, it’s madness to be so concerned over college kids. First in the fall its football and now the focus (and pressure) is on basketball. As my kids’ fencing coach put it, they’re student athletes and there’s a reason the word student comes first.
These are people, who, in theory, should be preparing for the rest of their life, not only on the field (or court) but away from sporting world, too. Instead, with sizeable television and endorsement contracts up for grabs, colleges pay through the nose to land top notch coaches and players. The players, as has been revealed time and again, are athletes who dabble as students. Scandals about grade inflation, substitute test takers and worse hit the media at least once a year and the NCAA makes lots of noises but in the end, the top players play.
The billions CBS has paid for the rights means they expect ratings which come from exciting competitions which only exist when the players are near-professional caliber. The schools, wanting the television revenue, too, pressure the coaches to win, which trickles down to the guys actually playing the game. Recruiting becomes cut-throat and sometimes, the spotlight shines on a budding superstar who abandons his education for the short-lived career of professional athlete.
There’s the NFL and NBA for competition. Let the kids stay out of the glare just a little while longer, let them be kids and see if professional sports is really their best option. Rather than treat the college kids as their private farm system, I’d much rather see the professional leagues build minor leagues that would benefit the transition from college (or high school) to pro.
Whenever I address kids about college, I remind them it’s the last time you can try and fail something without serious repercussions. I need to amend that to note that it applies to college kids not involved in sports where failure does have consequences.
The madness to me is how much interest there is in college games.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 01:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 22, 2008
Week Ten
He’s defying the doctors.
When he was released three weeks back, they were certain he’d be readmitted with an infection or fever. Instead, he will go back for round three on Monday without having been readmitted. His stubbornness and determination seem to be winning the day.
These last two weeks have been great for him because he’s been out of the house now and then and been surrounded with friends and family. He’s been borderline neutropenic so no movies, church, mall or the like, but he’s come to grips with that. Instead, it was sort of fun watching the kids take over the dining room table and do their taxes together. He’s also done some work towards figuring out his next academic step and he’s rediscovered the Marx Brothers.
His blood counts have been recovering nicely and he’s on target for Monday. We’ll arrive and have blood work done and if the counts say he’s ready, then he will have a lumbar puncture and bone marrow biopsy, be readmitted and begin chemo that day. Round three is a five day course of treatment so he could be home as early as Saturday morning.
Looking at him, despite being bald and pale, you would never know he has been suffering. Our pride in the way he’s been handling this remains high.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 01:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 20, 2008
Networking Pitfalls
I’m not usually an early adopter of internet stuff. I was certainly not among the first to use the social networking sites or shop on line, yet I’ve come to embrace the need to stay ahead of the curve. As a result, when I received an invitation from Carson Tang to join Naymz, I didn’t hesitate.
Carson, whom I have known via I-Con for something like 25 years, is an early adopter and I thought just this once, I’d leap in feet first.
It offered to access some of my professional networking sites including LinkedIn or rifle through my Outlook contacts and invite people to join my network and have them right recommendations for public viewing. The key behind Naymz seems to be that potential employers can check out a candidate’s professional reputation by scanning names here.
In theory it’s not a bad idea and maybe this will grow in importance. Various colleagues, friends and acquaintances all wrote glowing things and then some e-ailed me separately to inquire if this was a scam. Others wrote to proudly announce they wrote some “lies” and hoped it would lead to work.
And here’s the thing. We all want to see our peers do well so yes, we’ll burnish each other’s reputations, skipping flaws that might be germane to a project. This could, theoretically, boomerang and make an employer think we’re nuts or our own word is diminished. Given how close some of our networks are, this could have repercussions.
Now, is Naymz for real? It’s too early to tell. I’ve found some of the networking sites useful to find old pals an din some cases actually make connections that has led others to getting work. Some are just social and that’s fine, there’s a place for that.
But for business networking, I see we need to tread cautiously and that’s where being an early adopter may not have been the wisest course of action. Guess we’ll see.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 12:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 16, 2008
Lunacon Day Two
Day two at Lunacon was short but great fun.
Got there in plenty of time for the 10 a.m. panel on “The Future of Comics”. The good news is that we had more of an audience than yesterday’s comics panel and we all agreed there is a future.
After an hour of silliness in the Green Room with various pals, I headed off to a panel “The Magical Soapbox,” essentially a discussion of politics and whether or not it belonged in SF or Fantasy. Not sure why I was placed here unless someone knew I actually toiled in small town politics but it was a lively discussion.
Finally, the show ended with “Talk Nerdy to Me” wherein Glenn Hauman, Keith DeCandido and Terri Osborne joined me for an hour about fandom. As Glenn succinctly put it, “We won.” The room was not only packed but people lingered in the doorway as we had tremendous fun dissecting the topic and more or less stayed with the subject matter for the hour.
A good show all in all and it was very nice seeing so many friends. I then hightailed it home where Kate awaited, home for a much needed Spring Break.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 15, 2008
Lunacon Day One
Lunacon day one was a tremendous amount of fun. While a business networking show, it’s also a place I see many tri-state area friends I don’t normally see so there was much hugging and schmoozing going on.
I arrived in plenty of time for my first panel which was the topic of raising fannish children. It was fun being on it with Kathleen David but the four panelists were twice the number of the audience, which was a shame. A good discussion ensued and it’s worth repeating at some other venue.
From 11 until 2, there was a wonderful memorial for Rabbi David Honigsberg. The last time I saw him was at 2007’s Lunacon and he died three weeks later. This was an SRO gathering and I knew practically everyone in the room. People took turns telling stories, six different flasks were passed around, a testament to David’s mantra, “More whiskey.” His wife, Alex, had laryngitis so was whispering anecdotes to compel people to get up and tell stories. There were many delightful, bawdy, embarrassing, heartfelt tales told and we laughed. At the end, several friends picked up their instruments and played some of the music they shared with David. A very fitting tribute.
I crashed the Year in Comics panel and had a fine time dissecting what worked and what didn’t work from publishers great and small. To me, I realized the last year saw as a theme the failure to properly execute the ambitious stories that were launched at both major companies. I also noted the rise in web comics as an original medium and a welcome addition to the variety of material available.
I wound up skipping my autographing to wander the dealer’s room with Susan Wright, whom I hadn’t seen in a year or more. It was fun catching up and seeing what wares were for sale.
Later, I wound up finally meeting my new ComicMix colleague Rick Marshall and he joined me and Glenn Hauman as we sat in to hear the Top 10 things right and wrong in comics. I wound up heckling from the rear, correcting some misinformation and having fun.
Glenn and I then ran out to pick up barbecue for a bunch of us and we repaired to Aaron and Jennifer Rosenberg’s room where there was much feasting going on (although the restaurant neglected to give us plasticware or napkins). From there, Jennifer, Emily Bloch and I secured Masquerade seating.
It was a brief but very entertaining Masquerade and then I was up to do the half-time show. For a change, I was queried on films I had never heard of which threw me off-stride but not for long. There were also technical glitches so we could see every trailer I brought along, but people enjoyed what they saw. After the awards were finally handed out, I hightailed it home.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 11:21 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Week Nine
Robbie has been in a good place. His friends have been home from school and he’s been out more than not. One day they all flocked here for the afternoon and that was cool. They make him laugh and he feels absolutely normal around them and they see to it where they go and what they do limits his risk of infection.
He does tire easily and remains pale. In fact, after a night out with the gang, he can sleep a good eleven hours which we certainly don’t mind.
On Tuesday, his blood counts were looking good and the doctors remain very pleased with his progress.
On Friday, he was still getting good counts but remained borderline nutropenic so he still can’t risk a matinée at the movie theatre, which disappointed him. They also found some sores on his tonsils and did a strep test which proved negative. To be safe, he’s now downing a banana-flavored medicine which he hates.
He’ll go back for more counts on Tuesday but essentially, he doesn’t need blood, he’s looking good and can’t wait for Kate to come home on Sunday.
We’re considering ourselves most fortunate.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 14, 2008
Joining the Jury
For those of you following at home, “Things That Aren’t” did not make the final Nebula Awards ballot and I figured that was that.
Then, I got an e-mail reminding me that I had volunteered to serve on the Nebula Awards jury for next year. Not only were they reminding me, they were telling me I will sit on the Short Story jury.
This effectively means I’ll be reading all manner of short works in the coming year, being exposed to writers I am most likely unfamiliar with. That’s the upside. The downside is the volume this might entail. We’ll see.
What does it mean to be on the Jury? In short, it means we will hunt in obscure places for eligible works that might otherwise go unnoticed. If we can all agree on one such work, we’ll have the ability to add it to the Ballot. That’s kinda cool.
And now it’s off to Lunacon – hope to see some of you there.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 13, 2008
It's Budget Time
There may be no more boring, nor more important, than the town budget process. Once the school and town side budgets are released, every member of the RTM gets copies of these 300+ page each tome. We have a few weeks to fully absorb the data and then come to sit in the audience for the combined hearings held by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance.
One or two members of the public turn up for these multi-hour dramas unless there’s something that concerns them personally. What’s interesting is, during the campaign season, everyone complains about the taxes but few bother to learn why they seem so high. Invariably, the answer has to do with the fixed costs associated with contracts salaries and benefits, utilities, and the like. The wiggle room is finite and that’s where the tax increase can be magnified or trimmed.
Reading the budget can be like reading a long dry book, and you seek the story. What was trimmed and why. Is there a theme to the trims on either the town or school side? You look at some of the capital request items and you wonder why. You see how many departments request part-time or full time additions to the staff and wonder if they’re justified, especially if the request is not granted in the First Selectman’s recommended budget.
I’ve found a theme and one I want to explore, if possible, at Thursday night’s budget hearing.
Last night’s hearing was highlighted by the arrival of seven teens, all coming to speak in favor of a $225,000 skate park to replace the poor excuse we have for one. They came having done their research, showing sample schematics of other Connecticut parks that work and spoke very well for their cause. No doubt they’re going to get this non-recurring capital expense.
When I left, just after 11, they were still probing whether or not we’re properly funding the retiree benefit accounts and if not, will that hurt our AAA bond rating. As the questions continued, I came to recognize I heard these very same comments and questions on the very same topic last year.
There may be a better way of doing this process and it’s something I hope the BOS and BOF discuss once this budget is put to rest in early May. Its important work, but I think we bog down in minutia when we have larger issues to examine when it comes to spending tax dollars.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 05:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 11, 2008
Work Update
I’m a week or so away from completing the young adult non-fiction book on the Bataan Death March and I’m taking a hard look at my schedule to see what will take its place.
Right now, I have several book proposals out and keep hoping one of them gets approved. One, a media tie-in pitch with a collaborator, got turned down finally by the publisher. My partner and I spent a weekend up turning it into something new and now it’s ours to pitch wherever we want. An editor at one house is already looking at it and if he passes, an editor at a second house has expressed interest.
A different media tie-in pitch got turned down by one publisher last week so I need to figure out where to try next and fortunately, I have some options with this one.
Meantime, I keep lobbying an editor for a project he has to assign and just hasn’t made up his mind. I keep crossing my fingers for this to come through since it’ll be fun but it’s entirely out of my hands.
On the other hand, there’s a long-gestating project with two pals that keeps not getting finished. The friend who promised to finish the pitch should be done soon and then we can see who might be interested and fortunately, it’s original so our options are many.
Fortunately, while all of this stuff churns about, I have enough to keep busy for now. The daily web comics strip Heroes Happen Here continue at a frenetic pace. The challenge here is the constant need for new artists to satisfy Microsoft’s request that we set the story in different countries using native talent. Know any artists in Russia, China, or India?
The web writing also keeps me going including a project I hope to speak about soon. All in all, I am filling my hours with paying work while beating the bushes for the elusive Next Great Assignment.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 07:05 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 09, 2008
Greekover
Greekover celebrates Greek Easter and Passover and any other spring festival you care to toss into the mix. It gave the extended Rozakis and Greenberger families yet another excuse to meet up and eat too much food.
Being a made up holiday, it floats across the calendar, gently pushed by the spring breeze, landing wherever convenient. This year, Laurie and Bob were determined to have Greekover despite the uncertainty of Robbie’s schedule. We could do in Fairfield, or Yale-New haven or Farmingdale, whatever worked. Once it was clear he would be out for a few weeks, we tentatively booked it for yesterday, the eighth. Venue could always be adjusted.
Well, he was having a good week so a trip to Long Island would give the Greenbergers a much needed change of scenery. Despite the monsoon-like rain, we drove down and arrived pretty darn on time. We walked in, got the usual round of hugs and kisses and stepped into their family room to see…
…Katie sitting there chatting with Chuck and Rebecca. Earlier in the week, she lamented missing Greekover and hoped to be making to the 2009 edition. The fink was playing with us. Two weeks ago, she’s on a date and her phone rings. Laurie says, “I’m looking at the Southwest schedule, when do you want to fly up?” This being Laurie’s gentle way of suggesting Kate come to NY for the weekend courtesy of Air Rozakis. Some time after the date ended, she worked out the covert details and arrived at the house some 20 minutes before we did.
We couldn’t have been more surprised or delighted. It meant the nine and a half of us (the halfbeing William, Sammi's beau, who was late and had to leave early) of us could while away the day, unified through food and love. There were many stories, much eating and a great deal of laughing. The kids all played Munchkin after dinner as the adults continued to gab away.
It was odd leaving Kate behind at their home when we finally had to leave. She had to get up ridiculously early to fly back to D.C. plus losing an hour to Daylight Saving’s Time but we all agreed it was worth it. And it’s now just a week away before she comes home for break.
We have been continually floored by how generous our friends and family have been during Robbie’s treatment but this, this goes above and beyond. We couldn’t ask for better family.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 08:54 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 08, 2008
Week Eight
Today marks Robbie’s eighth consecutive day at home. A record since January 19.
When they released him last Saturday morning, the oncologists warned him that he was likely to be back sooner than later, suffering from a fever or similar side effect. He is out to defy them and so far has managed pretty well. He still tires easy and as the week wore on, he got paler and paler. He also had one not-so-bad nose bleed Wednesday night – a reminder that he’s not better yet and anything could still happen.
He had blood work on Tuesday that showed his counts dropping but Dr. Beardsley said he was doing better than she expected. Still, he had to go back Friday and spend nearly six hours in the clinic receiving two units of red blood cells and more platelets. As they put it, they were “topping him off for the weekend.” The clinic has a child care specialist who had her ass kicked by Robbie when they played Tony Hawk on the PS2. He met NY Jets rookie Jacob Bender, watched some TV, dozed off, read Manga – almost as if he were at home.
Robbie finds the child life work intriguing, a blend of being camp counselor and educator. He’s been watching them for a while now and thinks their work could be a career option for him. He and Katie, the specialist on the seventh floor, have already had a few discussions regarding courses of study and how one prepares for the role. Similarly, he’s well into the application to spend a week or two as a volunteer at the Hole-in-the-Wall-Gang, a camp for ill children up by the University of Connecticut. Most of his residents, nurses and oncologists have been there at one time or another and rave about it. He likes the idea of being somewhere with terrific medical coverage in addition to helping out younger children with similar situations. Applications are due this week and he’s been told it’s filing fast so he has to quickly finish up.
Deb and I are cautiously allowing ourselves to plan things to do between now and the 24th. Events, meetings, people to see…and it feels good to fill the calendar without the word doctor next to the item. We’ve even spoken a bit about summer stuff, but stop ourselves, since after all, he remains ill and conditions can change.
Robbie will need to go back 1-2 times a week for blood work but won’t go back in for round three until March 24, the day after Easter. This thrills him since it means he will be around to see all his college friends as they come home for their spring break this week and then the following week Kate will be here. As far as the doctors are concerned, he is on track to complete his course of chemo by the very end of May and then we’ll see what happens.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:31 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 07, 2008
Rookie Visit
Despite being home, Robbie needs to come back to Yale-New Haven every few days for blood work. Today, he came in for platelets and red blood cells, sort of topping off the tank. While he’s generally feeling well, he still tires easily and is pale – the blood will help.
While he’s hanging out in the clinic, he’s been playing PS2 and watching TV. But, after lunch, the clinic received a visit from New York Jets rookie tackle Jacob Bender. Now, neither one of us has paid much attention to the Jets this season, so the name meant nothing to us. However, a quick glance on line shows that Bender was a sixth round selection who didn’t make his pro debut until the October 28 game.
Hailing from Maryland, he had a bit of a southern drawl and handed everyone autographed hats. He and Robbie talked a little about playing Tony Hawk and he tried to be encouraging but it was clear he did this as part of an NFL-outreach program but he may not have been well prepped for dealing with sick kids.
He was pleasant and soft-spoken and I gather many of the kids were impressed to see a real life pro football player. I give the young man credit and hope he grows more comfortable with the role.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 04, 2008
Catching up with Television
So, being at home has allowed ourselves to get back on track with household chores and more importantly back to the gym. It was a sore but refreshing session on Sunday, to hopefully be repeated tomorrow.
Meantime, another thing we’re doing now is catching up on our prime time viewing. Deb and I sat there, reviewing what we had stored on the DVR. She looked at the list and said, “I think I’m done with Cane.” I had to agree. When we had nothing new from the usual roster, we settled for this, hoping that the show would find its footing. It never did and I can see why CBS won’t be bringing it back. A terrific cast was entirely wasted on all too predictable character arcs and storylines. Not a single thing surprised us and just about every dramatic turn was telegraphed.
We also decided to give up on 30 Rock after a handful of episodes. In the fall we agreed to try it given the buzz and the Emmy awards. However, despite the bravura performance by Alec Baldwin, the characters are basically morons and stereotypes and we can do without it. We just didn’t find the humor and must be missing something. (Yes, I actually think I prefer Studio 60 to this.)
The three of us have now seen all of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and we were entertained. Deb and Robbie liked it better than they expected and since I had no expectations, I was fine with what I saw. The show is dark but not overly so and the FBI agent, Ellison, has been an unnecessary element. Summer Glau is a delight but the Brian Austen Green character, Reese, is way too one-note and strident. He finally displayed some depth in the final hour but by then it felt too little too late. If anything, I think the show went for stories that did everything they could to further the franchise at the expense of any real sense of connection between the trio – Sarah, John and Cameron. The ratings haven’t been stellar and it may not make it to the fall, which is a shame since I think it has potential.
Meantime, I’m still trying to decide on tonight’s debut of New Amsterdamm, a shameless rip-off of Pete Hamill’s wonderful Forever (something no single review has noted). The reviews have been mixed to positive so we might give it a go. I’m a lot more ambivalent about Canterbury’s Law the legal show with Julianne Margulies. The promos that ran last night were stylish without telling me enough about the show to make it worth sampling.
Anything we should be trying?
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 10:13 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
March 01, 2008
Week Seven
Week seven ended on a high note. It might have been a C.
Robbie is coming home today, having completed round two of chemotherapy in grand style. Unlike round one, he suffered no side effects at all; required no blood or platelets and maintained eating real food all week.
The best news came a few days ago when Dr. Massaro told us that his second bone marrow biopsy shows a dramatically reduced amount of “blasts”, the immature white blood cells that indicate leukemia in the system. He measured 8.9% blasts after round one was over and then, days later, measured 1.5% which was a terrific number. Better yet, it could be he may already be in remission – we’ll know in a week or so. He still needs to complete all five rounds of treatment, however, but the low rates found in his system tell the doctors he most likely will not require a bone marrow transplant.
He’ll be home starting this afternoon and unless a side effect occurs, will stay in Fairfield until the day after Easter when he’ll be readmitted for round three. In between, he has to come back for weekly blood work and the doctors fully expect him to develop a fever or two given the weakened system. If so, he’ll be readmitted immediately until his blood counts improve. Robbie, of course, is determined to avoid fever.
The doctors and the nursing staff have all been impressed with how much stronger he looks this time around and the encouraging tones have helped his frame of mind. He even did some work with the Child Life people, bringing in Disney Scene It and Guitar Hero, staging tournaments with the other patients. The Disney game got a fabulous turnout which had a lot of kids in attendance. Guitar Hero brought out the would-be rock stars among some of the older patients and the nurses. In fact, Thursday night, Robbie wound up spending most of the night out in the common area with the nurses and another patient, playing Guitar Hero until something like 11.
Deb has planned to return to full time status come Monday, which helps her frame of mind. While I’ve been surprisingly productive from the hospital, there’s more that could and should be done so having more time at home will help. We’ll also get to do our own cooking once more, a change of pace after the last two months, and fall back into the routines that make us feel “normal” and once more in charge of our lives. He’ll still rest a lot, take plenty of medications and still use a TPN nutritional IV at night, but he will no longer be entirely restricted to the house, which delights him.
Posted by Bob Greenberger at 09:00 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack