Feels Like Monday

It feels like Monday to me. I lost a day in the week already. Since being in New York it is easy to forget what day of the week it is. Every day is pretty similar, even holidays. The last two nights the Manhattanhenge was supposed to occur. This is an event during which the setting sun aligns with the east-west street grids of Manhattan. This stunning sunset occurs twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice. Of course it cannot be cloudy and that is exactly what is was the past two nights. Sunday night I ventured out with a few people from the Lodge around 8:00. We walked a few streets over in hopes of catching a little sunset but the clouds never parted. Afterwards we walked to a little park and sat down in the night air. The weather was cooler and not bad out. As the darkness fell the lights of the Empire State Building illuminated. I took a picture of Cathy and Kurt.

Yesterday Jim wasn't feeling that great so we stayed inside the Lodge all day. Several residents have been coughing and we heard that something is going around at the Hope Lodge. If you think about it, there are many immunocompromised residents here. All it takes is one to catch something and it can spread like a wildfire. Although Jim wears his gloves and mask most of the time when he is outside of the room he is still vulnerable to infection.

Today was an early day. We caught the 6:30 shuttle to the hospital. Three homeless men were just waking up across the street from the Hope Lodge. I took a picture of them from the shuttle. At the hospital Jimmy had blood work, vitals, met with the NP and then with Dr. Sauter. Since Jim was under the weather they were able to swab him and determine he was infected with the human parainfluenza virus (HPIV). The virus is spread very easy from infected person to others through the air or by touching a surface infected with it. HPIVs can stay in the air for over an hour and on surfaces for a few hours and still infect people. There is no treatment for it so Jim has to let it run its course. While with Dr. Sauter he confirmed that some of Jim's abnormal blood counts were directly related to bone marrow recovery. He actually said Jimmy had "a robust bone marrow recovery" and that the cells in his marrow were "happy" cells. We interpret this as his 29 year old donor cells are happy to be living in Jim's bones and are producing well. After meeting with Sauter Jim had to stay for IV fluids. The fluids help hydrate him and flush his kidneys. His potassium levels are still elevated so its important to drink lots of water and watch foods high in potassium. While he was having treatment I went out to the post office and back to my favorite grocery store on the Upper East Side.

Late afternoon Jim rested and I sat outside on the 6th floor patio. Aside from the noise it was pleasant out. The patio gets afternoon shade and there was a nice breeze blowing. We will have homemade pizzas for dinner tonight. We probably will have the kitchen all to ourselves as there is a big dinner event downstairs with quite the menu prepared by different New York City chefs. We are staying away from group food preparations for now. Bon Appetite !