Yogatha, a healing angel in Amsterdam


Living large in Puerto Rico-an excellent habit

My Michele

Lovers for life

Pals for life. Partners in crime who become 17 all over again.


Our mom would be so proud to see that she raised four independent, supportive, beautiful women who watch over each other.

Check out the matching outfits-Happy women stand up to cancer in their pink socks!

FRIENDSHIP

My friends have the capacity to be truly playful children and when I asked one such playground pal, Leslie, to keep me company for the bone scan, she agreed. She drove me there and before we got out of the car, she slipped one bud from her ipod into her ear and one into mine. Salsa music was blasting. When we got out of the car, we danced through the parking lot, into the lobby and up in the elevator. It was a wonderful break from in the terror I was feeling. Happy and free in the moment--this was one of those moments I got to live out loud. The bone scan was clear. My bones looked fine; they had not betrayed me.

My friend Claudia came for the follow up visit with Dr. Shevde who planned to explain the disease and suggest treatment. It had been only ten days after that initial call from my internist Dr. Smollow saying I had this elevated protein count. I couldn’t quite believe that any of this was real, but here we were both armed with our pads ready to write down everything Dr. Shevde said in order to make sense of this or at least have an idea about treatment. Claudia is a scientist. Her keen mind and her composure made it seem as if we were gathering information for some intellectual pursuit. It didn’t feel personal. It didn’t feel like it was about me. After Dr. Shevde reviewed the disease and the natural progression if not checked, she indicated that her plan of treatment included thal/dex (thalidomide--as in the sleep/tranquilizer given to women in the 50’s—you know the one that caused all those birth defects-this was going to help me-dear God.) As she read off the side effects and I jotted them down like any good schoolgirl, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Weight gain, drowsiness, constipation DVT-deep vein thrombosis (which could be fatal) and neuropathy-dead spots many people experience in their hands and feet. Dead spots that never go away. As I finished writing the word neuropathy, Dr. Shevde went on to discuss the steroid dexamethosome which often causes mood swings, insomnia, weight gain. I already have had enough of my own mood swings; I certainly didn’t need them induced. The cure seemed far worse than these kooties that weren’t causing any trouble at the moment.
When Dr. Shevde looked in my eyes, she knew I wasn’t ready to start treatment. She suggested that I see someone active in Multiple Myeloma research-someone on the cutting edge. I actually knew whom I wanted to see. My friend Marlene and her husband Joseph had done all the research for their brother-in-law who had mm for five years. When I told Marlene that I had been diagnosed with myeloma, she handed over all the information. From all her research it was obvious that the man to see in New York was Dr Jagganoth. I asked Dr. Shevde if she could get an appointment for me. Her nurse called and then buzzed Dr Shevde to say it was a three-month wait. Dr. Shevde was kind enough to call for me and got an appointment for the following Tuesday with Dr Jaganoth one of top Multiple Myeloma specialists at St. Vincent’s..