Dear Family & Friends,

Today is Day 72 of the 100 days after Barry’s transplant that we are required to be in Palo Alto. We have given our 30-day notice at our apartment, and expect to move home the weekend of February 10. After that, Barry will be able to resume a more normal, but not totally normal, life.
He will be off of the low-microbial diet, will be able to go to restaurants, and won’t have to wear his Darth Vader mask except when in a hospital. He will not be able to get on a plane until November, so we will take road trips instead.

He is getting stronger every day, and his brain is working at almost full capacity (see www.agauchepress.com). He has even been able to read books again. We have had some more bumps in the road, but they have been more annoying than painful or scary.

We certainly had expected a different life than we have experienced over the last 72 days. We were planning on walking every day to the Cancer Center (a 15-20 minute walk) but Barry wasn’t strong enough to do that until just this past week. I thought I would drop him off, do errands, work out at the gym, etc. and then pick him up. But it turns out that I really needed to be there to interact with the docs, nurses and physician assistants, take notes, modify meds, ask questions, etc. It felt like every time I wasn’t there, either something bad happened, or information did not get passed to me that I needed. Being Barry’s caregiver has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but completely rewarding.

We are both looking forward to being in our house once again (the joy of a one-bedroom apartment is wearing thin), getting back to work (me), writing and wrapping up his legal practice (Barry), re-joining our wonderful Saturday morning yoga class, training with a terrific trainer with whom I’ve been working down here, and seeing more people (that would be all of you) than each other and the Cancer Center staff on a daily basis.

On the medical front, Barry had a bone marrow biopsy right before Christmas which showed 76% of his bone marrow being his donor’s, and 82% of his T-Cells coming from her. This is considered very good. He has another biopsy on Day 90 and we have been told that total engraftment can take up to 6 months. All of the doctors are pleased with his results. Of course, we’re still anxious, and want that 100% result NOW, but we just have to keep breathing and doing our best to stay positive and healthy.

Thanks to all of you for your support. It has been incredibly important to receive emails, voicemails, cards and notes, gifts, food, etc. from all of you.

Lots of love,

Bonnie