Thanks-giving

Less than 12 hours until I'm liberated from the chemo pump I've been dragging around all week. I can't tell you how happy I'll be to get rid of the tube in my arm. So far so good: no fever, no pump alarms, no rash, no other symptoms except for the flattening fatigue.

I'll go over at 7 PM for the disconnect. They'll take some blood through my PICC line, then yank it out. I've had that thing for 10 days, and even though the infernal itching eventually subsided I am really looking forward to getting rid of it. Blood test results should be in by mid-day tomorrow, which should be close to the nadir of my neutrophil count. Platelets, red cells, and hemoglobin should be down too. Will report.

Yesterday I managed another long slow walk, over an hour, though I had to sit down a couple of times. Felt pretty woozy the rest of the day, but couldn't fall asleep. Luka's over his cold, so I spent real time with him, the first since he got sick 9 days ago. At dinnertime he asked, out of the blue, "Mommy and Daddy, when will I go to graduate school?" I put him to bed last night with stories about my life at 5, 6, 7 years old.

The end of Thanksgiving weekend seems like a good time to give thanks to everybody who's helped us through this. I've been overwhelmed by the response. Still haven't answered most of the hundreds of emails, though I hope to start doing that soon.

Here are just a few specifics: Gabrielle, who's done almost nothing but help me since this all began. Yan, for the superb food operation; I'm starting to think my colleagues should abandon teaching and open a restaurant instead. My parents, for everything. My uncle Larry, a radiologist, retired but always my family's first line of defense when it comes to helath problems. Half a dozen cousins, for medical consultation. Jennifer, for putting me on to Sloan Kettering. My parents' many friends, who've sent dozens of emails.

Marcia and Kirk, for support and referrals to Marcia's hematologist/oncologist brothers. John, for the awesome brownies (got me through the first few days). The Big Brain (Gabrielle's friends from MIT). Lauren and Maya, who sent me a Sony Playstation as well as Destined for Destiny: the Unauthorized Autobiography of George W. Bush. Don, who's white-knuckling through a medical ordeal of his own, and Elaine, who's doing it with him. Todd, who always understands. My brothers. Kali and Paul. Joel, for endless consulting. Susan and TR. My always-elegant Dutch colleagues, who sent flowers. Donna, who's getting through her own big-time disappointment but still finds understanding. Steve Schneider. The parents of Luka's friends. Tirtza. My workgroup: Steve, Geof and Leigh, Chris, Tom, David, Steve C., Archer.

At the School of Information: our deans, who understood how all-consuming a fight like this must be, and cut my teaching load to make time for me to get through this. Michael and Yan, who agreed to pick up my slack by taking over a crucial course. Ann. Former students and GSIs, for staying in touch. Jim, our facilities guy and a total mensch.

And many, many more. Thank you all.