Legalectric

This week was full of precedent setting/uprooting and life altering decisions of the Supreme Court, including 303 Creative LLC v Elenis, which needs to be tossed out, attorneys need to be disbarred, etc. LYING is NOT OK, specifically prohibited in Court Rules. Good grief…

And only after the fact to we learn that this is a fraud, based on misrepresentations and made-up-claims-emitting-from-what-orifice?

Comments from Plaintiff and the Colorado Attorney General:

Listen to Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser complain that the case allowing businesses to discriminate against gay couples was a made-up case with no real victim or any real business. The court should have refused to hear it, he says. pic.twitter.com/F9yMQLoXFM

— David Heath (@davidhth) June 30, 2023

From The Guardian:

Key document may be fake in LGBTQ+ rights case before US supreme court

Seems there was no request, the Colorado court was dismissing her claim because there was no basis for it, and suddenly there was a “request.” That alone should have raised suspicion:

The man named in the Supreme Court’s gay rights ruling says he didn’t request a wedding website

Watch as Motions for Sanctions, courts 86ing the decision, and complaints to the bar roll in…

Today’s platelet count hit NORMAL! 135! That’s up from 9, yes, NINE, on admission.

This is such good news, heaving a sigh of relief. When the doctors say Alan is doing “better than expected” this is a most positive spin on that statement!

Here’s the U.S. Department of Justice report on the City of Minneapolis police department in its entirety:

Above is a quilt made and gifted by Marilyn Tkachuk, intensely detailed, easily hundreds of hours of work. Just WOW. Marilyn and Tilton have been in to visit, and Marilyn’s been there, has been to Rochester lately for testing, and knows too well how life-changing a cancer diagnosis, chemo, and this “new normal” can be. Her support means so much… Thank you all for inquiries, visits, calls, and care packages, he appreciates that y’all are thinking of him. I’ll keep “updates” on the calendar so you’ll have some idea what’s going on. Lately, it’s just more of the same, B-O-R-I-N-G! But that’s good news in hematology!

Alan’s still in Mayo, Methodist campus, Eisenberg 9-416 (3rd room so far). If you’d like to visit, do give him a call to check his schedule, he’s in and out, poked and prodded often every day. (302) 299-8638.

Alan’s stabilized, doing well, Drs. say “you’re doing better than expected” and yet needs to be in another 3 weeks before he’s discharged. After discharge, there’s DAILY chemo for SEVEN MONTHS, alternating months between a month of oral ATRA (vitamin A derivative) and a month of IV arsenic(yes, that arsenic) at some Mayo facility, and hopefully NOT Rochester (that’s a 3,000 mile a month journey). Back and forth, month ATRA, month arsenic, seven months, so likely through January, into February? I hope by Alan’s birthday it’ll be “Happy Birthday to you, you’re done with CHEM-O.” Until then, onward with treatment and figuring out what life will be like going forward.

Platelet count has been a major concern, that was the trigger that caught our attention, because low platelet count means bleeding, and suddenly he was covered in bruises. Bleeding can start spontaneously or with a bump, and doesn’t clot. A fall can be deadly. When he was in the clinic, and then the ER, he had a platelet count of 9. Yes, NINE! They were popping their eyeballs in shock, got him in the ER stat, and they wouldn’t even let me drive him to Rochester, hence an ambulance with lights and siren.

He’s got a PICC line in now, getting regular platelet infusions, and it seems to be a peak and trough, with peak raising it, and trough then not so low, another peak, and then not as low, so he’s above the crisis point, but no where near normal, more like half of normal, but not NINE! They want to keep platelets over 50. Bruising is fading, and no new ones, so PROGRESS is visible.

White blood count is an issue too, as we’ve been told that what’s happening is that his white blood cells aren’t “maturing” and with the chemo, they’re being released when not read due to the chemo, and too many too soon triggers, or is, differentiation syndrome:

That means there’s a balance of quick release that signals the release of the deadly stuff, too many WBCs v. keeping them in, keeping it low, so there’s daily testing and monitoring, and adjusting the teeter-totter.

You can see the sharp peak exactly 2 weeks after starting treatment, and, whew, then a sharp drop, lowering, I think, to where it should be.

Fibrinogen is also an issue, but that seems stable:

I’m posting these updates, trying for weekly, but missed last week’s (!), because there aren’t enough hours in the day. It’s hard to explain the details over and over, so these updates are the nutshell. It’s a steep learning curve with so many variables, and IT’S SUCH LONG TREATMENT. We’ve been told that 90% get through this “induction” phase, which is the hospitalization and stabilization, and it seems he’s in that 90%. They’re constantly monitoring him, sucking blood out of him like the Minnesota State Bird.

The new normal is a new part-time to full-time job, taking up even more head space than actual time doing all that needs to be done, an extremely high band-width endeavor on this end, and I’d guess even more so for Alan, though he’s bored shit-less there, spending a lot of time at the hospital library now that he can roam the halls. TV is against his religion, though I hope he got to see what reporting there was of Trump’s arraignment.

We’ve had a picnic with Sadie, because he SO misses his dog (plus there’s real food in Rochester, in RW, there’s little to choose from), and need to do another soon:

Sadie never smiles, but look how happy she is to see Alan!

Onward…