4-23-2008 My Birthday

The last few weeks have been a little mellower as I finally got off of plasmapheresis (and hopefully I will be able to stay off), which freed up about 20 hours a week. I am still doing dialysis 3 times a week and occasionally going to Dr. Isacoff’s office for one thing or another, so I still spend a fair amount of time at UCLA. Even though I have more free time these days, I still have not had all that much energy or ability to do stuff, but at least I have been able to spend more time doing nothing at my apartment. One little adventure was my birthday, which is below. A special thanks goes out to my Mom and Pop and Eva for an amazing day. Below the birthday post is a little recap of the past few weeks.

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008


Amidst the monotony of doing plasmapheresis five days a week and dialysis three days a week, I did manage to break out a bit on my birthday. Of course, scheduling was tricky, but somehow, we managed to pull it off. I began the day by going to plasmapheresis at 8am where I was pleasantly surprised by the plasma team who had gotten me a cake. It was quite tasty - nothing like a good dose of chocolate at 8:30 in the morning. It was really amazing how close I got to all of the plasma nurses over the course of my treatments. I guess we were all spending quite a bit of time together. It turns out that it was another plasma patient’s birthday on the same day so the team had gotten him a cake as well. It did not take long before the nurses were taking cake samples back and forth between patients and caregivers and staff.



After the little celebration at UCLA, Eva and I hopped into the car and headed down to San Pedro. One of my favorite destinations is Catalina and it had been a little hard to work out the logistics of a trip when I was spending 6 days a week at UCLA. One way to make it work, would be to cut down on the travel time. To that end, my generous parents sprung for the chopper ride over to the island. Now this is the way to go. Everyone knows how much I love taking my father’s little boat over, but I have to say, this was pretty sweet. It is just so easy. You just show up, check in, hop on, and 15 minutes later you are there. The ride is a little smoother, too (and little is a bit of an understatement). When we booked our time, we were told that Eva and I would head over at 1pm and then my parents would take the chopper at 2pm but a change of pilots took the total weight down enough to allow us all to go on the same flight across. Eva and I chuckled as we imagined some huge pilot that only allowed for a couple passengers. It must be tough to know that your belly is cutting into your revenue a bit. Maybe he was just big boned.


Well, before we knew it, we were on the island. My parents also generously sprung for a room in the Inn at Mt. Ada, Wrigley’s former residence. They picked us up at the heli-port and took us up the hill. My dad and I had had breakfast up there a little over a year ago but this was the first time Eva or my mother had been up there. When you get there, they give you a little tour of the place and basically give you the run of the house. The rooms themselves are amazing, but also all the common areas are just really inviting and relaxing. A favorite of most guests is the pantry, which is stocked with beer, wine, soda, snacks, ice cream, and other food that is just always available whenever you want. When we were being shown around, a few people were reading and one woman was asleep in a chair, which was a testament to the relaxing vibe of the place. The views from the balcony, and the rest of the house, are spectacular. It is like you are perched above Avalon. It you have the means, I highly recommend spending a night or two there. My folks tried, but unfortunately there were no other rooms available at the Inn for that night (they only have 6 rooms) so they ended up staying at the Zane Grey, which was on the other side of Avalon. Another perk is that each room comes with its own golf cart to get around town. Eva and I drove them over to their hotel, which was a little adventure in itself. I got a little nervous when the cart was leaning as we were going around some of the curves on the way down from the Inn.


My activities have been a bit limited, but one thing I can do is eat and that seemed to become the theme for the day. Breakfast and lunch are included with the room and even though we got there in the afternoon, they cooked us up a nice little burger that Eva and I split. Did I mention that we had already had lunch at Ports O’Call before the chopper ride – a bit of a seafood extravaganza. We had our late lunch out on the balcony and as we were eating and enjoying the view, I thought I recognized a voice behind me. I was not 100% sure but then I heard a few familiar names and it turned out to be Nancy Bell, the wife of my father’s former partner, Jim Bell. The Bells have a place in Avalon and she had come over with a friend and they decided to have lunch up at the Inn. Eva and I said hello and each got a big hug and then caught up a bit. We all found it pretty funny because this is the second time we have run into each other at random lunch establishments. About a year ago, we got seated at a table right next to Nancy and Jim at the restaurant at the Getty. Small world, I guess.


After lunch, Eva and I had aspirations of a horseback ride but, as we had missed the last ride, we were perfectly content just enjoying the room and napping and reading a bit. It certainly is a nice way to live. Eva and I are very happy with our current lot but it feels like we occasionally get a taste of “the good life.” I think a better characterization would be that we live the good life, but occasionally get a taste of another good life, one where money is of no concern. I put on the robe and the slippers and tried to strut around the room like Heff. At 6pm my parents joined us for hor d’oeuvres. It was a shame that Eva and I do not really drink because the bar was serve yourself and open during the whole stay. At the slightest inclination, you could just take a couple bottles of wine to your room or just enjoy them in the living room or wherever. We sat and watched the sun go down over the hills to the west of Avalon and mused over the little snacks. One of the offerings were bacon wrapped crackers. I had never seen that before. I had one and probably exceeded my entire daily sodium allowance with the first bite. After we snacked, talked, and sat a bit, I brought up the possibility of
dinner. I think my folks and Eva were pretty content with the late lunch and hor d’oeuvres but they were certainly willing to indulge me on my birthday. We all got into our sweet ride and made our way down into Avalon. The city was not exactly hopping on an off-season Wednesday night and our first choice was actually closed at 8:30pm. Luckily, there was one restaurant open just about a block away. I guess Avalon is not all that different from Two Harbors where the bar stays open as long as someone is still buying drinks. If that stops at 7pm, the bar closes for the night. Anyways, the eating bonanza continued and we had a really nice meal at Vino Portofino. After dinner Eva and I dropped the folks off at their hotel and then cruised back up to the Inn.


The next morning, Eva and I slept in a bit and then had a really pleasant little breakfast on the balcony again. I cannot express just how nice it was to get a little change of scenery. For the previous 2 months, I had spent 95% of my time at either my apartment or the medical buildings at UCLA. Getting out and around is such an important part of Eva and my lives and it was definitely starting to wear on me. Probably the most depressing thing about dialysis is the idea that, unless my kidneys recover (come on boys), I really cannot go more than a few days without treatment. No long camping trips, no long boat trips, no random sporadic road trips. Not that I have done any of those things recently, but it is hard thinking that the possibility of doing the trips has been removed. At this point, I can still travel, but it is going to take a lot more planning and starts to become quite a logistical challenge. With that in mind, it was just so good for my spirit to sit there, enjoying breakfast with my beautiful wife, and taking in the gorgeous views of Avalon. In a way, these experiences sort of keep my head in the game and remind me what I am fighting for. Sometimes that gets lost a bit when your see the same four walls day in and day out. Enough rambling, sadly after breakfast, Eva and I had to pack up and get ready to head out. My parents came up to the Inn and we all got a ride down to the heli-port for our return trip. The ride back was just as fun as the ride over and Eva even saw a few dolphins. Before we knew it, we were back on the mainland, and back to reality. Eva and I thanked my folks and then went right back up to UCLA so that I could do plasmapheresis at 12:30pm and dialysis at 3:30pm.



Again, we did not do all that much besides eat and hang out but it was just so wonderful to get a little change of scene and a taste of extravagance. Luckily, I really like food. I still shake my head and am amazed that we were able to squeeze the trip into the time between two plasma treatments. All in all, it was just a really wonderful and memorable birthday. I am so grateful all the people who made it so special.
-TN