As many of you know last November Bear did a stem cell donation. Click
here to read about the first process.
Bear received a call before he left for the Gulf of Mexico that the patient was now in need of his T-Cells. Hurricane Isaac happened which delayed time and eventually after many rescheduling the day was upon us to head on up to Portland.
We checked in to
The Inn at Northrup Station and I thought we had both sipped on some of Alice's happy juice and slipped down the rabbit hole.
 |
| Walking down the passage inebriated would not be wise |
 |
| All I could think when I saw the 'headboard' was where are the handcuffs. |
 |
| Living area with purple door that leads to another rabbit hole. |
|
Portland is well known for their outstanding restaurants. We were in the Northwest Portland area and we decided to go to
Serratto Restaurant and Bar. Once again Portland did not disappoint.
Their happy hour menu was wonderful and we agree with our friends, Dave and Lars, happy hour in Portland is incredible. These pictures are the happy hour portions.
 |
| Calamari Rings |
 |
| Octopus Bean Salad. I dug in before I took a picture. Hence the bite out of the bread. |
 |
| Fries, garlic mayo and ketchup. |
 |
| Walnut salad |
 |
| Pizza of the day |
 |
| Creme Brulee |
The Creme Brulee was on the house per our wonderful waitress Erin. I had told her why we were in Portland and she was a little verklempt.
 |
| Serratto. Great place, great food and great atmosphere. |
5:00am Came all too soon and we were off to the hospital to get Bear checked in.
 |
| Bear all checked in and waiting. | | | |
|
I had to leave the room when they put the needles into Bear's arms. These are some big boys and I don't do well with the sight of needles.
 |
| So calm and happy. |
Once Karen, our wonderful nurse we had last time, had Bear all situated we turned on the TV and I flicked through the channels to find something to occupy us all for the next four hours. The T-Cell collection was not as stressful as the Stem-Cell. If you remember back then Bear had to take injections to increase his stem cell production which put pressure on his bones. My husband is a trooper. Not one complaint. Now me... well as Karen said, "We'll make sure you have two nurses in the room."
 |
| Bear and our amazing nurse, Karen |
If you look to the right of the picture and about the machine you will see a bag with red liquid in it. Those are Bear's T-Cells.
 |
| All done. |
Our thoughts, prayers, wishes, good juju and mojo go to the patient. We hope she has a positive reaction to the T-Cells and that she gets stronger every day.
Thank you to Fari at
Be The Match for keeping us straight on our paperwork and appointments and for always having a hug and a smile for us no matter how hectic your day was.
Karen, thank you for your kindness and your compassion. You made this journey so much easier for us both to get through.
Bear, thank you for going along with me when I signed us both up on the registry and for not giving me the sideways look when you were called six months later. You are selfless and I wish there were more people in the world like you. I love you much.
If you are thinking of signing up on the registry please take a moment and educate yourself on all that is involved. We can all get caught up in the emotion and when our number is called we should be ready to say yes.
What a great post. Such an important message. I can tell how proud you are of Bear x.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I love the look of that creme brulee :-)
Thank you Lesley. Yes, that creme brulee was just as good as it looked.
DeleteYou got yourself a good man there. It's great that your nurse is so good to you. A lot of them here have - um - less than stellar reputations when it comes to bedside manner.
ReplyDeleteAs for the handcuffs, it's a good rule to pack your own when you travel. Hotels never seem to have them in stock.
Thanks for the handcuffs tip. I take it you have learned from experience right?
DeleteMore than your "thoughts, prayers, wishes, good juju and mojo go to the patient," part of Bear is going to her as well! What a noble thing to do. I will look into this per your request. I just donated plasma (it's like donating blood but they take a bit more and flush out the red blood cells) but I think I can do more.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what LSD-addled interior designer came up with those color combinations in your hotel?
HA HA HA - Bear and I are cracking up at the "LSD-Addled" comment.
DeleteWow! This is amazing. I hope the patient does well and gets back full health, so they can meet one day.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately Bear and the patient won't ever meet. She is international. We won't even know now if the T-Cells take. Different country, different privacy laws. :-(
DeleteWow, what an amazing adventure. You two are the BEST KIND of People. So glad to know you. I was wondering how this was going and I'm glad you kept us all informed. My prayers are with you, John, and his fabulous T-cells.
ReplyDeleteNan if anyone has an ear to God it is you. Thanks for always keeping us on your prayer list.
DeleteThanks for documenting this. Very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteTa very much Mattie. Much appreciated.
DeleteAh, Nubian, if Bear weren't already taken there'd be a lot of people waiting in the wings. But I'm glad he found someone worthy. You are both amazing for doing this. The food looks and sounds wonderful... even the octopus beans! And I love that hotel. I can't believe you didn't have your handcuffs with you. You ALWAYS have your handcuffs with you. Anyway, you should have looked in the night table. They keep them under the Gideon's bible.
ReplyDeleteWell it's a good thing that I snagged Mr. M then. I didn't think to look under the Gideon's Bible. Dammit! I missed an evening of fun!!
DeleteYou are amazing, selfless people. The World (and me) thnak you for your giving natures!
ReplyDeleteYou two are so wonderful =) I hope that his cells help the receiver this time. XOXO and hugs! =c)
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Nubian.
ReplyDelete1. A second time? I am not worthy to be in Bear's company.
2. Gave you a shout out.
3. I can make walnut salad.
4. How are you?
Bear is indeed a hero!
ReplyDeleteBear, you are such an amazing man. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank YOU for sharing his efforts...and the food porn, too! Did you like the octopus-bean salad? I had one last weekend and I wasn't a huge fan, I hafta say. But I'd be more than willing to give it another go.