Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Day +362
Yesterday was a very important day. Besides collecting the blood for the monthly Chimerim test, several other tests were run. Since we are coming up on the one year mark, Zev had a Bone Marrow Aspiration (biopsy-light) and and echo cardiogram to check on his heart. The procedure has gone well. The current blood numbers, i.e. hemoglobin, platelets, and white blood cells all look good. The echo looks great as well.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Day +356, Zevi in the news
I am glad to report things have been going well. Next week BeTheMatch is having a telethon in Oregon and as preparation for it it has teamed up with KATU news to run a few stories of bone marrow transplants. One of them was Zevi's.
http://www.katu.com/sponsored/
Two very nice folks from KATU came over and taped the boys playing and Alla and I speaking for a bit about the experience and about the transplant registry. The boys were a little milder than normal, I was prepared for a full-on brawl, but sounds like we got good footage of the boys, and especially Zevi, of course.
Naturally we taped the wrong channel when it actually was on TV, so it took a couple of days and some quick thinking from our friends and Dream Drives for Kids (thank you Chloe and Eric!) to get the link and post it.
http://www.katu.com/sponsored/
Two very nice folks from KATU came over and taped the boys playing and Alla and I speaking for a bit about the experience and about the transplant registry. The boys were a little milder than normal, I was prepared for a full-on brawl, but sounds like we got good footage of the boys, and especially Zevi, of course.
Naturally we taped the wrong channel when it actually was on TV, so it took a couple of days and some quick thinking from our friends and Dream Drives for Kids (thank you Chloe and Eric!) to get the link and post it.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Day +331
Ahead of the weekend I am happy to report that the tenth Chimerism test came in 100% donor! Have a great weekend, everyone!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Day +326
Hope everyone's 4th of July was fun. For us it was a week spent at Sunriver, OR - a high altitude plateau resort village, close to Mt. Bachelor. The boys swam, mostly. With life preserve jackets the boys are both fully independent in the water. They also gamely tormented (in descending order of torment level) their cousins Paul, Felix, and Rafi. Extra points go to Felix who has shown unprecedented maturity by taking charge of a house of four younger cousins and allowing the adults a few minutes to eat and drink. Alla and I slept and had a few nights off, both compliments of Grandma Rita and Grandpa Tolya.
At home things continue to move along. The boys have started weekly swimming lessons and seem to enjoy them. The week before the trip to Sunriver Zevi had the monthly checkup. The appointment went fine, the blood numbers are good. As always, we await the results of the next Chimerism test with trepidation. In the mean time, a few images.
These were taken at the 4th of July parade:
At home things continue to move along. The boys have started weekly swimming lessons and seem to enjoy them. The week before the trip to Sunriver Zevi had the monthly checkup. The appointment went fine, the blood numbers are good. As always, we await the results of the next Chimerism test with trepidation. In the mean time, a few images.
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| Reading the morning paper at the coffee shop, 6/29/15 |
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| Check this out, bro! |
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| Hmm, what to do next? (this is when the staff get nervous) |
These were taken at the 4th of July parade:
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| Zevi, climbing on. |
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| Conquered! |
Monday, June 8, 2015
Day +298
The last few days have brought news, all good I am pleased to report.
On Friday the results of the 9th Chimerism test came in, and, once again, 100% donor. The very welcome news came right in time for the boys' 4th birthday which we celebrated on Saturday. It was a hot day, but the party went great. The balloons, the soccer, some beer, two cakes, a lot of lovely gifts and even lovelier wishes.
Some extra excitement came late in the party, compliments of Benjamin's bunny that, once again, went AWOL. The escape prompted two late night drives to the park and even brief searches through the garbage at the party site. Turns out the bunny was enjoying a sleepover with geed friends of ours who kindly returned him to us the next day.
Sunday was a much more mellow day with the boys (mostly) peacefully sharing the new toys. It was an important weekend, and a good one.
On Friday the results of the 9th Chimerism test came in, and, once again, 100% donor. The very welcome news came right in time for the boys' 4th birthday which we celebrated on Saturday. It was a hot day, but the party went great. The balloons, the soccer, some beer, two cakes, a lot of lovely gifts and even lovelier wishes.
Some extra excitement came late in the party, compliments of Benjamin's bunny that, once again, went AWOL. The escape prompted two late night drives to the park and even brief searches through the garbage at the party site. Turns out the bunny was enjoying a sleepover with geed friends of ours who kindly returned him to us the next day.
Sunday was a much more mellow day with the boys (mostly) peacefully sharing the new toys. It was an important weekend, and a good one.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Day +292, getting ice cream
All the best things in life: a car with guns on it, a dinosaur that is a transformer, stickers, ice cream, candy, and some brownies. What else is there?
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| 6/2/15 |
Monday, June 1, 2015
Day +291. Good checkup, first day of daycare for Zevi
In chronological order.
On Friday the monthly checkup went very well, thank G-D. The blood numbers are good and doctor approved of everything she saw. We also could not be happier. Of course, we now await results of the Chimerims test and hoping, as always, for the right result.
The weekend was spent mostly in parks. On Saturday we all partook in a spontaneous game of soccer, most of it kids versus adults. The rules and team rosters were fluid, the score fractional, if not outright imaginary, but fun was universal. Benjamin and Zev mostly stayed off the field (due to being much lighter than even the kid players), but did wonder in a few times to score goals of their own and, a few times, add randomness to the game by knocking over the goals themselves.
On Sunday we all (small Russian invasion) descended on a park (thank you, aunt Vika for putting this together!) We ate, we played, we avoided an ornery sprinkler. The boys got very excited, had great fun, and did not nap until the ride back from the park, at 5:30 pm. In the end, the were bathed and asleep by 9. All and all - a good weekend.
Monday was the first day of Zevi being in daycare. He was in a class different from Benjamin's - otherwise neither of them would learn - and did very well! Even though his English is limited for now, just as we expected Zevi had no trouble communicating. As the teacher informed Alla, at one point he said something which no one understood. He then grabbed his crotch and clearly indicated what he needed. Zevi then proceeded to do his business into the toilet like a champ.
I will add pictures to this post later tonight. hang in.
On Friday the monthly checkup went very well, thank G-D. The blood numbers are good and doctor approved of everything she saw. We also could not be happier. Of course, we now await results of the Chimerims test and hoping, as always, for the right result.
The weekend was spent mostly in parks. On Saturday we all partook in a spontaneous game of soccer, most of it kids versus adults. The rules and team rosters were fluid, the score fractional, if not outright imaginary, but fun was universal. Benjamin and Zev mostly stayed off the field (due to being much lighter than even the kid players), but did wonder in a few times to score goals of their own and, a few times, add randomness to the game by knocking over the goals themselves.
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| play ball! 5/30/15 |
On Sunday we all (small Russian invasion) descended on a park (thank you, aunt Vika for putting this together!) We ate, we played, we avoided an ornery sprinkler. The boys got very excited, had great fun, and did not nap until the ride back from the park, at 5:30 pm. In the end, the were bathed and asleep by 9. All and all - a good weekend.
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| late in the day, watching a cartoon with dad 5/31/15 |
Monday was the first day of Zevi being in daycare. He was in a class different from Benjamin's - otherwise neither of them would learn - and did very well! Even though his English is limited for now, just as we expected Zevi had no trouble communicating. As the teacher informed Alla, at one point he said something which no one understood. He then grabbed his crotch and clearly indicated what he needed. Zevi then proceeded to do his business into the toilet like a champ.
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| Two knights 6/1/15 |
I will add pictures to this post later tonight. hang in.
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Day +268, brief update
Just a brief yet important note: the Chimerism test results came in yesterday and, once again, I am please to report 100% donor!
Today we got to partake in an awesome potluck (thank you, Alina and Dima) and the boys got a chance to be re-acquainted with the pool. Both were game to be in the water and jump in, tried to swim and had a grand time. Swimming classes it is.
Today we got to partake in an awesome potluck (thank you, Alina and Dima) and the boys got a chance to be re-acquainted with the pool. Both were game to be in the water and jump in, tried to swim and had a grand time. Swimming classes it is.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
OMSI last weekend
Last weekend we went to OMSI with the boys. A pretty awesome temporary exhibit is "Labyrinths." Here is Benjamin as Spider Man
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| Hanging out 4/15/2015 |
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Day +261
The most recent checkup went very well. Hemoglobin, platelet, and white blood cell counts are looking great. Of course, now we wait for the Chimerism results.
Zev has great energy and good appetite, even through for about two days during the week he had the runs pretty badly. Had us worried, but the docs said it did not look like GVH. We even collected a sample of the analysis which I ruined by not placing it in a fridge (double bagged, for those planning to eat out of our fridge ever again). By the time Alla got ready for sample number two (no pun intended) the diarrhea was over as suddenly as it arrived. Or to be more precise, it jumped over to Benjamin who has it today. Alla and I can't wait. And speaking of evacuating the bowels - last week the both of the boys managed to go potty in the toilet. First Alla got Zev to try and heaped praise on him when he succeeded (at that point she just had to get him to sit down at the right moment, not sure how much control Zev had of anything after). Benjamin listed for a while and, of course, had to get in on the racket. Each of the boys were rewarded with a toy. And to conclude the theme... last weekend following the Lego class all of us went to a coffee shop, as is our custom, for coffee, hot coco, and bagels. At some point when we were outside the store Zevi decided he would like to pee. So, he proceeded to pull down his pants and pull-up and made a puddle right in front of the cafe door. This was, as they say, a teachable moment on the merits of restrooms. To the credit of patrons and owners no one bat and eye, as if puddles of pee materialize on the sidewalk outside on daily basis. More importantly, we were still welcome at the cafe next weekend.
Zev has great energy and good appetite, even through for about two days during the week he had the runs pretty badly. Had us worried, but the docs said it did not look like GVH. We even collected a sample of the analysis which I ruined by not placing it in a fridge (double bagged, for those planning to eat out of our fridge ever again). By the time Alla got ready for sample number two (no pun intended) the diarrhea was over as suddenly as it arrived. Or to be more precise, it jumped over to Benjamin who has it today. Alla and I can't wait. And speaking of evacuating the bowels - last week the both of the boys managed to go potty in the toilet. First Alla got Zev to try and heaped praise on him when he succeeded (at that point she just had to get him to sit down at the right moment, not sure how much control Zev had of anything after). Benjamin listed for a while and, of course, had to get in on the racket. Each of the boys were rewarded with a toy. And to conclude the theme... last weekend following the Lego class all of us went to a coffee shop, as is our custom, for coffee, hot coco, and bagels. At some point when we were outside the store Zevi decided he would like to pee. So, he proceeded to pull down his pants and pull-up and made a puddle right in front of the cafe door. This was, as they say, a teachable moment on the merits of restrooms. To the credit of patrons and owners no one bat and eye, as if puddles of pee materialize on the sidewalk outside on daily basis. More importantly, we were still welcome at the cafe next weekend.
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