Mick McKellar Update — Day +757

I am sitting indoors, waiting for the other shoe to fall — snowshoe, that is! Given our current interest in all things meteorological, climatological, and geological, I am certain someone has a theory regarding our weather quandary. Officially, spring begins day after tomorrow (March 20th) — a comforting thought, though whimsical, given we have received nearly 20 feet of snow this season, and a large portion of that white winter weather phenomenon remains on the ground and we are expecting upwards of 30 more inches tonight through Wednesday. Even veteran Keweenaw residents are beginning to chafe under the burden, and grow weary of searching for places to put snow shoveled, scooped, or blown from driveways, walkways, decks, and roofs.

Shut-In

The hardest part this winter has been watching Marian struggling with all the snow. I cannot help much because: 1. The effort gets me out of breath very quickly, and 2. The cold air triggers asthma problems — making it difficult to breathe. The combination is like a one-two punch to the chest. Indoors, I am doing well — I can even climb the stairs to our second floor two times in a row without nearly passing out!
The next hardest thing is missing out on my grandsons' birthday parties (because there will be lots of children — i.e., germ carriers) present at these events, and all the other groups and gatherings that would normally populate our winter schedules. Mostly, I get out for hospital visits for blood testing, and occasional shopping trips for things I must purchase. Otherwise, I hide here, behind the walls of my home, and view the white world beyond the threshold...

Numbers Game

My blood tests were done last Thursday. I called today to ask for the results, and they all look pretty good. Even my blood glucose has been behaving nicely (93) and my platelets have risen to 199,000! I was happy to hear my potassium level is normal, because I found out that those with low potassium and/or magnesium levels may be in some danger if they are taking Azithromycin — an antibiotic I take on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The danger involves a peculiar form of arrhythmia and can have the side-effect of sudden death. Makes me want to eat my broccoli...

Getting Ready

We are preparing for a second attempt at our first trip to Rochester, MN and Mayo Clinic — this time leaving on April 2, 2013 and returning on April 5, 2013. Our first attempt, back in February, was foiled by two rather large, nasty blizzards. This time? Who knows what Mother Nature and Old Man Superior have in store for our journey...

The roof of our garage, across our deck.

Prayers and good thoughts are always welcome and certainly helpful. I have hopes that all the testing will demonstrate that things have improved. Barring that outcome, it will be great if they show no further degradation. I'm well past the two year anniversary of my blood and marrow stem cell transplant, and would like to begin making some plans on how to celebrate my third anniversary!

God bless you all,

Mick