We went first thing
this morning for the MRI and visit with Dr. DeAngelis. I think she was quite pleasantly
surprised: her first words to us were “a perfect scan!” The “debris” that had
shown up on all those previous scans has essentially disappeared. To say this
is good news is an understatement. We talked about my progress with the neuropsych
therapy, and she had some helpful suggestions. She also talked with me about
not losing any more weight. All jokes aside, she told me that, frustrating as
this is for people dieting to reduce body fat, after a certain age what ends up
being lost is a lot of muscle, which is certainly not a good thing. I am still
a bit suspicious that Barry put her up to this lecture! Barry now believes that
he has received a medical order to make me gain weight.
We left Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center on this incredibly beautiful morning and knew we
had to do something to celebrate. First, we had to stop at the optician for a
slight adjustment to my new glasses. Then, Barry had an idea of where we should
go.
I have to diverge a
bit for some history. For many years, Barry and I had been almost regulars during
the summer at a place called The Boat Basin Café. It is just off the West Side
Highway along the Hudson River at West 79th Street. We would always
try to go early to be seated near the railing, overlooking the River. But for
the past few years, even before last summer, we had to abandon this place
because it was just too difficult for me to walk back up the stairs, or for
Barry to push me in the wheelchair, to the street level. We never stopped
missing it.
Once we had tried an
alternative called Pier i that is in a similar location about 10 blocks down at
West 68th Street. It is a nice place but does not have the
sentimental value for us that Boat Basin does. The lay of the land is such that
the walk down to Pier i is not nearly so steep as the walk to Boat Basin, so we
decided to go there. But it was such a glorious day that we decided to first take
a walk along the River before going to have drinks. We started walking uptown,
and quickly began to realize that we were approaching the Boat Basin Café. And
we noticed for the first time that we could enter Boat Basin from the south
rather than the north path that we had always used, and this turned out to be a
much simpler walk.
So we had our favorite
frozen drinks: Barry had a Strawberry Daiquiri and I had a Pina Colada. It was
absolutely thrilling to be back there after our long absence. It was truly the
best place we could have possibly chosen to celebrate the wonderful news.
Thank you all for
your ongoing support. The journey continues.
Love,
Rebecca
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