DAILY NANCY UPDATE #75

Greetings. 

This is the seventy-fifth in a series of DAILY NANCY UPDATES I will be posting until the amazing Nancy Neufeld Callaway is in full remission and we have kicked her leukemia on its ass. 

If you'd like to be automatically notified of updates to this blog-- just enter your email address in the window on the right beneath Nancy's picture and follow the prompts!

BREAKING NEWS

Today was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. And it was also the day we officially checked Nancy into City of Hope for a six week stay.

But not before we had some unexpected fun. Because after we got her to the hospital bright and early this morning for some bloodwork-- they told us that her room wouldn't actually be ready before 3pm. So we decided to make the most of that time and celebrate our anniversary however we could. 

First, we drove back to Pasadena and had a tasty breakfast at The Reyn Cafe. And then, we drove to Arcadia, home of the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. We hadn't been there since the kids were really little-- but on a particularly beautiful Memorial Day-- it seemed like the perfect place to wander.

So wander, we did.

The gardens are actually quite beautiful. And at the center of the park's 127 acres, sits the Baldwin Mansion (circa 1875), which is far better known to those of us of a certain TV viewing demo as the fictional home of FANTASY ISLAND.

 

Now admittedly, if you would've told me back when I was a kid watching Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize welcome guests on that Victorian front porch, that one day my wife and I would be killing time in the same place before taking her to the hospital for leukemia treatment-- I probably would've changed the channel.

But today, there was actually something kind of perfect about being there. We both got a much needed stress-relieving walk and some delightfully warm Southern California sunshine.

And best of all, after a short hike up to the top of a waterfall, we found a quiet bench to exchange a couple of gifts we'd both brought along. Nancy gave me a vintage, leather-bound, 39 New York World's Fair journal with handwritten detailed descriptions of each of our 23 anniversaries, and pasted in photos, as well. And I gave her a 175 page gold book of "Happy Thoughts," which detailed my own handwritten recollections of pretty much all the high points I can remember of our time together so far. 

So yeah. After that, we had a pretty good cry.

And then we drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. And maybe some Rosé.

And finally, we drove back to City of Hope and got her all checked into a room on one of the two special floors dedicated to treating various blood cancers. 

Tomorrow she will begin a heavy course of radiation-- three times daily for four days-- followed by chemo, all in an effort to completely eradicate any remaining traces of leukemia and zero out her blood counts. And then-- on June 7th, she will receive her anonymous Israeli donor's bone marrow in the transplant.

She's been referring to that as her new birthday, and joking about renaming herself NANCY NEWCELL.

But I just want to get her through the next 100 days-- which is the period her doctors say it will generally take for her to feel normal again.

 

So look-- I know I've been asking for this in every post. But we could really use your good vibes, thoughts, and prayers... especially over the next several days. 

Thank you, sweet family, friends, and fans of the Sunshiny Superwarrior Goddess.

WE LOVE NANCY, and... 

ALL IS WELL!