Saturday 6-16-2007
Eva and I woke up Saturday morning in a pretty incredible house. The oncologist does not mess around. We got up, made our way upstairs, and Dr. Isacoff made us a wonderful little breakfast of eggs and toast. It was really cute. We caught up a bit on the prior weeks happenings and discussed a bit of what we would like to do while we were up in Park City. Eva and I really value any time we get to spend with the doctor and this had already exceeded both of our expectations. A little more about the house, the doctor shares it with another woman that he has known for a long time and they sort of take different approaches towards the house. Dr. Isacoff seems to enjoy the house and enjoy having people use it and is careful and considerate but realizes that houses are meant to be lived in. I seriously doubt whether or not the woman who shares the house with him has any joy in her life what so ever. Maybe she enjoys the house herself, but she seems to worry about others in her house and tries to account for every contingency that might occur. These worries are revealed to the houseguest through a multitude of little notes scattered throughout the house as well as a four-page document that contains the rules and guidelines for staying in the house. Eva and I found the document about a day into our stay and, sadly, we had already broken about 10 of the rules. Of particular note were the instructions to, unless unavoidable, keep the shades down on the windows because it would fade the carpet and the artwork (though I am pretty sure the skylight in the roof was doing considerable damage regardless of whether or not the other windows were blocked or not), the note that food was not to be carried between floors (basically, if you make that sandwich on the top floor, you better eat it on the top floor), and, in finale, that at no time should red liquids of any kind be brought into the house. I was glad that we were there with Isacoff as he put us at ease a bit about the house.
After breakfast, we thought that it would be fun to go for a little bike ride. Of course, Sony was not going to be left at home and this proved to be a bit of an obstacle that needed to be overcome before we got out on our ride. His little legs and lack of conditioning precluded him from running alongside of the bikes for the ride so we needed a way to carry him along. For all practical aspects, we were essentially taking a baby along with us on our ride, though, somehow, the bike shop did not see it that way. They were very ready to rent us bikes but were not very helpful in figuring out a way to take Sony along on the ride. Our first thoughts were to just rent a little trailer and put him in there. The first reaction from the bike shop guys was that it would not be safe for the dog. Hmm, safe enough for a one-year-old, not safe for a dog. The next excuse was that the dog would destroy the trailer with his claws. I am not sure if they were actually looking at Sony, but I do not think he could really do all that much damage with his little manicured paws. We said that we would sign a waiver indicating that we took full responsibility for the condition of the trailer as well as the safety of the dog and also put down a larger deposit, but it was as if nothing would please the bike shop employees. Dr. Isacoff did not really appreciate the attitude of the workers, so we decided to go across the street to another outdoor sport shop. As soon as we walked in, every employee at this bike shop looked up as if they were expecting us. They were similarly resistant to renting a trailer though, when asked, they were willing to sell one to us. It turns out that the first bike shop had called the second bike shop while we were on our way across the street and tried to convince them to not rent us a trailer for the dog based on safety reasons. What struck me was that no one was really trying to work with us to figure out some acceptable way to take Sony along on the ride. We had money and were willing to pay for some reasonable solution but all the employees could say was why something would not work. So, we went on our way to a third bike shop. They also would not rent us a trailer, stating that they did think it was sanitary to have a dog in a trailer and then put a child into the trailer. I guess I could understand this, but, really, I think a kid would be at more risk to catch something from another kid than be allergic to Sony. Anyways, we moved on from the trailer idea to trying to figure out if we could bring him along using a backpack or bag of some sort. I found something suitable, we checked and Sony fit in pretty nicely, we bought it and rented a couple bikes, and, finally, we were on our way.
The ride itself was pretty nice. There was a bike path that led to a dirt road right there and that was as flat of a ride as we were going to get in Park City. Isacoff and I were not really ready to take on the mountain. We made a bit of distance fairly easily and it was really pretty riding through the rolling grass covered hills that surround the little mountain town. Sony was pretty content being taken for a ride. We realized once we turned around why our ride had been fairly easy so far. We had been going with the wind and basically downhill as the path had a very slight grade in our favor on the way out. It was pretty brutal on the way back. A decent wind was in our face, we were going on a slight grade uphill, the sun was beating down on us, and the altitude all contributed to Isacoff and myself alternately needing breaks about every 15 minutes. It was a long journey back into town but eventually we made it. The guys favorite quote on the ride was, as both Isacoff and I were panting during one of our many breaks, when Eva inquired, “Isn’t this exhilarating?” The look on the doctor’s face said it all. Between that and Eva asking us to suck in our bellies for a picture after the ride, Isacoff got a taste of the character of my wife.
We all napped back at the house and Eva and I were pretty sure that the belly comment was responsible for changing our dinner plans from Tex-Mex to sushi. Dinner was a wonderful affair, as expected with Isacoff, and we just had a great time. Lots of different dishes were all shared and I cannot remember a meal where the flow of food was more pleasurable. We would generally have two dishes in front of us and just a one was being finished, another was brought in its place. I did wonder a bit about having sushi in the middle of Utah, but the fish was very tasty and seemed very fresh.
Sunday 6-17-2007
On Sunday, we drove down to Sundance and went on a little hike. Sony came along again and this was his first real outdoor adventure. This Shitsu has come a long way from his wolf ancestors, but still seemed to have a good time on the trail. The hike was up to a beautiful waterfall and the surroundings were so lush, it was a bit reminiscent of Hawaii (though more white people). Once we got up to the waterfall, Sony plopped down in the stream and tried to cool off.
I do not mean any disrespect to Sony, but when he was on the trail, he sort of looked like a rug with legs. He brought home a number of twigs and stickers on his belly and by the end of the hike he was dirtier than I had ever seen him. Again, Dr. Isacoff and I felt exhilarated and Eva almost seemed to gather energy during our athletic endeavors. Dr. Isacoff is just a really nice guy and fun to spend time with. Eva and I were very touched that he would spend so much time with us and we hope that we were good company. Eva does an amazing job of putting smiles on people’s faces.
Once we got back to the house, the doctor had to get ready to take off, as he needed to get back to LA on Sunday night. Sony was in no condition to fly so Isacoff washed him in the sink and then Eva and I dried him with the blow drier. This dog is amazing, he would just stand there and let us prep him and he even seemed to like it a bit. Ted, the dog I grew up with, would have freaked out if a blow drier was going anywhere near him. We saw Isacoff off and then had a quiet evening in the huge house.
Monday 6-18-2007
Most of the day was spent just enjoying the house. We are very happy in our apartment but we do not have any trouble admitting that it is very nice to stay in wonderful houses. I think we only broke about half a dozen of the rules on Monday, so that was good. Eventually, I got a bit restless and started surfing the web and checking out the various activities available to us in and around Park City. Utah is a nice place to play and there are a number of ways to spend time outdoors but I was particularly intrigued when I saw a link about SCUBA diving in midway (a town just on the other side of the hill from Park City). A unique natural formation has left a crater that has filled with 95-degree water and is something like 40 feet in diameter, 65 feet deep below the surface of the water, and the top of the crater is about 30 feet above the surface of the water. There is a small hole in the top of the crater and they drilled a tunnel at roughly the water’s surface to allow people to walk into the crater. In addition to swimming and snorkeling, you can rent dive gear and dive the crater. It took a bit of nudging, but eventually, Eva was up for it. This was the first time that I have ever dove without a wetsuit, which was a pretty amazing feeling. They had hung a couple items as visual references in the crater like a small mermaid doll and a wheel and the walls of the crater were fairly interesting, though there were no fish. It was a little intense descending down to the bottom because, though there were a few lights in the water at about 20 feet, it appeared as if you were descending into the abyss. Eventually, the bottom came into view, I touched it and then Eva and I made our way slowly back to the surface by circling around the walls. Eva had not dove for a little while, but it all came back to her and she did a great job and looked good doing it, too. It was a truly unique experience and quite spectacular looking up at the light from 30 feet down in what felt like a nice warm bath.
After the crater, I made my way to Orem to visit an old friend, Chad Durham. As it happened, the rest of the Durham clan had just arrived and I got to spend the evening with the whole bunch. The Durhams were basically my second family in high school as I ran with 3 of the brothers and spent a number of afternoons at their house. They were celebrating Vicky’s birthday and I got to join in just like the old days. Chase, Chad’s son, is just a wonderful kid and really fun to be around. He even gave me a hug before he went to bed, which was really touching. The family seems to be doing well and I think that everyone except Vicky is taller than me now. Chad was getting ready for a race later in the week. Now this was not just a weekend fun run 5K/10K, it was a 175 mile 12 man relay race that went from Provo to Salt Lake City, the long way, though the hills. The BYU team has won it the last two years and finished it in around 17 hours. What a way to spend a day. The other exciting news was that Bethany, Chad’s wife, was pregnant. I heard a week later that, though she was due in September, the baby just could not wait that long and made a break for it. Chad said that the baby and Bethany were fine though they will keep the little girl at the hospital for a couple months. How exciting. For all you knew parents out there, there may be tough times and sleepless nights, but just know how lucky you are. Hopefully, this part of my journey will come to a close sometime and Eva and I will be able to think about little ones. Just don’t ever take for granted the ease of creating children.
Tuesday 6-19-2007
Eva and I hung out and enjoyed the house most of the day but eventually got out to play a heated round of minigolf. The course was not in the best shape, actually it was the crappiest minigolf course I have ever played, but we still had a good time. If your putt was a little off, you could stamp down onto the board and sort of guide it in. The windmill was not in the best of shape, probably some punk kids.
After minigolf, I went into the human maze, I mean how could I pass that up. I started out going for the record but tired fairly quickly. Eva enjoyed the spectacle from an elevated observation deck. Later, we got take-out and relaxed with a movie before packing it up for our early morning departure.
Wednesday 6-20-2007
We were up and out of the place by 6am to get back to Salt Lake for our flight back to LA. My father was kind enough to pick us up at the airport and take us to our car that was parked at his office. Eva and I stopped in for a minute to say hi to everyone at the office and, as always, it was really nice to see everyone. We then made our way back up to UCLA and I went in for a chemo session. It had been a while since I had gotten a full round of chemo and it felt good to be in the office for more than a half hour. I got epirubicin, taxotere, and erbitux. Sony seemed happy to see us and he was much cleaner than when we left him (even after his bath). Everyone was really nice as usual and the session was over before we knew it. Afterwards, we cruised back to the apartment and relaxed during the afternoon. It was nice to get back home.
1 comment:
Great work.
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