Happy New Year!

Hello 2020, Good bye 2019.

Happy New Year! For the first post of 2020 I’ve decided to do a little recap of all my restaurant reviews of 2019. The reason is that I went in for a 2nd bone marrow transplant in November, and haven’t been allowed to eat at restaurants at all since then (no restaurants, no berries or sprouts, and no food that isn’t cooked in my kitchen). The other reason is that I was super tired from the treatment, but more on that later in the Cancer Update.

The Melt⭐⭐⭐⭐. This is a great little burger joint in the Stanford shopping center. We are here right before I checked in for my transplant. My last restaurant food for a while.
The Fish Market.⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is my favorite fish market, the food is great, and you can pick up some fresh fish to take home.
21st Amendment Brewery⭐⭐⭐⭐. This place is all atmosphere, and it’s walking distance from Oracle Park. The food is pretty bomb too.
Su-Dam.⭐⭐ A cute little Korean eatery in Palo Alto. I can’t say I love Korean food, and the place didn’t exactly exude charm, but they do get an A for effort.
Osteria.⭐⭐⭐ This is the place to go if you want authentic Italian food in an authentic Italian setting. From the wine to the tablecloths it’s the whole package.
Celia’s Mexican Restaurant⭐⭐⭐⭐. So delicious, I ate too much! Which is usually the case at Mexican restaurants; me self control flies out the window as soon as I’m faced with a plate of refried beans.
Surf Rider Cafe.⭐⭐⭐⭐ My favorite thing about this restaurant was the fried avocados. I thought it sounded disgusting before I tasted them…My other favorite thing was the amazing chocolate cake. I mean AMAZING.
Nick’s on Fisherman’s Wharf⭐⭐. This is a hidden little Gem that obviously dates back to the 40s judging by the architecture. The seafood was super fresh, and delicious.
Buca Di Beppo.⭐⭐⭐ More Italian food in downtown Palo Alto. The food is delicious, and make sure you bring a big appetite because the portions are huge.
Chef Chu’s. I⭐⭐⭐⭐’ve been wanting to try this place for a while – it’s a quaint family run place. The menu here is huge, so there is a LOT to choose from.
Crow’s Nest. ⭐⭐⭐⭐This great little restaurant is right on the water, and for some reason, fish just tastes so much better when you’re on the water.

So, that’s it in a nutshell for 2019. I can’t wait to try more places this year (I mean, I really can’t wait!). I have a few places in mind that I’d like to try, places that we’ve driven by…. but can’t stop at just yet. Just 42 more days. Give or take….

The Cancer Update

Well. 2019 you were exhausting. Last January, at the beginning of 2019, I thought I was heading into a new year, cancer free. I was ready to start getting back to work (or so I thought) and back to my life in general. But… in January I started getting this rash, and some joint pain. I had a brief moment of fear that this might be the cancer returning, but I had no other symptoms, so I quickly dismissed my fears. Of course I told my doctor about the rash. It was getting looked into, but since I had just had a bone marrow transplant, the doctor didn’t really seem too concerned about it either. I eventually had an appointment with a dermatologist in Stanford, and she said immediately that my cancer was probably hiding out in my skin – that she sees it all the time. I didn’t want to hear that, and so I ignored it. Three biopsies and one week later, I had to face reality. And get my booty back to Stanford to see my oncologist to ‘discuss my options’. Kind of a rocky start to 2019. Fortunately for me, it turns out my options were pretty good – as a patient, you’re always in good hands at Stanford.

Fast forward to Novemeber, and the long awaited 2nd bone marrow transplant (what I actually had was a stem cell transplant). This time I had a donor – my sister. She is a sibling, and a perfect 10 out of 10 match. It doesn’t get better than that, so the odds of this thing working this time are pretty good.

My treatment before the transplant was an immunotherapy treatment, which can be a great alternative to chemotherapy. It was a trial, and I’m very thankful it worked for me; I’m also thankful the side effects were so minimal, I felt very healthy and normal. So healthy and normal that I was dreading the transplant, because I knew that during the next few weeks and months I would not be feeling so great. I was right, only I had underestimated how awful I would be feeling. I don’t know if it was the ATG treatment (which is a rabbit protein derivative) or the radiation that made me feel so very tired, but something sure did lay me flat out on my back. I was soooooo tired, even watching TV even made me feel exhausted. Showering was a monumental task. I know, I sound pathetic. I felt pretty pathetic too. My ‘team’ told me the best exercise for me would be to walk a lot. Uh….no. I was definitely not feeling like doing much of that. I just wanted to feel better.

Thankfully, that phase only lasted about 4 weeks or so. Which is kind of a long time to feel awful, but now that I feel better and have my energy back, it just seems like a minor speed bump. Now the challenge is patience, because I feel so good, and I’m doing so well according to the blood tests, that I feel ready to go home and get on with life. Unfortunately I have to stay here until 90 days post transplant. I’m a little over halfway at this point. Day 48 as a matter of fact. But who’s counting?

Here’s to a happy and healthy 2020!!