Special Visitors! June 19 2011

Sandy Baird, the former Director of the University of Northern Colorado School of Nursing and her husband, Bill, came to visit this afternoon. Sandy was my boss at UNC for many of the years that we taught together and we retired within years of each other.

Sandy was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1999 when she was just 52 years of age. She went through chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant at the University of Colorado Hospital. She has done well until this summer when the multiple myeloma relapsed. She is back on chemotherapy and doing well.

We visited about how weird it is to have 2 friends end up with multiple myeloma when it is a fairly rare cancer. She validated a lot of my feelings like nothing tastes right or good; a "veil" of tiredness, etc.

Bill was helpful to Jani telling her how she would need to be at the doctor's rounds each morning after my stem cell transplant to get the "scoop" for the day. They were both very encouraging to us.

Sandy Baird and jm June 19 2011



Visitors! June 18 2011

The HARDEST thing about this RECENT multiple myeloma diagnosis has been wrapping my head around the idea that I'm NOW LIVING in Colorado and NOT IDAHO where my home and 90-year old father are!

However, on the flip side, it is wonderful to be with my sister, Jani and Robbyn here in Greeley, Colorado where I taught at the University of Northern Colorado from 1975 to 2004. Being back in Greeley puts me close to my many friends in the area who have been very supportive.

My cousin, Laura Dynia Penney, visited today from Fort Colllins, Colorado today. She is my father's youngest sister's daughter and she always makes me laugh - was wonderful to see her.

Laura Dynia Penney and jm June 18 2011

Later, two of my friends that I used to teach with came by - Ann Henderson and Alison Merrill. A few weeks back, Alison went to Peru and did a trans-Andean lodge-to-lodge trek to Machu Picchu. She and Rod Holland trekked through nine different biozones, changing altitude (highest over 15,000 feet) and saw the exquisite beauty of Salkantay Peak, Salkantay Glacier and Humantay Glacier Lake before decending in to Machu Picchu. Alison gave us an iPad Tour. I loved it, felt like I was right along on the trip and I didn't even have to hike the trails like she and Rod did.

Ann Henderson, jm, Alison Merrill June 18 2011

Alison Merrill, jm, Ann Henderson June 18 2011