Hershey

Monday found us in Hershey again for another check-up, which went well, although we're still dealing with some persistent GVH. Jeff was on his way down to almost no steroids when that bugger of a rash showed up again on his face, hands, trunk and legs. So, Dr. Claxton bumped the prednisone back up to 40 mg/day, which Jeff will take for about a week or until the rash settles down. Then we'll go back to cutting the dose in half each week until he can stop taking it altogether. Other than that, his blood looks okay...there are no blasts floating around in his bloodstream, his white count looks good and his H&H are holding steady. His platelets haven't quite found their footing yet, but Dr. Claxton doesn't seem too worried about it.

JD & Chance

Interesting Stuff

When I was little, I was really good at math and I loved it. I even asked my mom to buy these math workbooks, which I did for fun and that were always several grade levels ahead of where I actually was. Anyway, my math genius (I'm saying that tongue in cheek - I am by no means a math genius) continued through elementary school, but somewhere around middle school I started to falter a bit and decided that I didn't even like math. This continued through high school, and even though I did just fine in calculus without any real problem, I didn't think that I really wanted to be bothered with anything math related. Then, I got to college. I took some math courses along with some chemistry (that of course, relies on logic and mathematical type thinking), and I once again realized that I loved the stuff. So, what is my point in all of this and why the heck am I talking about it? I'm getting there.

A couple of years ago, I read that boys and girls don't really show differences in mathematical aptitude until the junior high years and the expected causes had something to do with society's expectations of boys and girls and the way that the sexes are taught differently. I thought it quite curious that the timing of my loss of interest in math exactly coincided with what these studies were saying, and I realized that in some ways, maybe my love of math was trampled by society and its expectations of me. However, I certainly couldn't make any conscious connection to something that happened to cause this, so I continued to wonder how and if society and my teachers could really dictate the way I feel about something.

On to Larry Summers, who in 2005 made a statement that there are innate differences between the genders and that men are naturally better at math and science, and that is why there are way more super-genius men than super-genius women. His remarks were completely overstated by the media and it caused him lots of trouble. I remember thinking to myself (even with all of the media hoopla) that Larry is probably right. Because there are innate differences between men and women (I think we can all agree to that), then it is very possible that science and mathematical ability is one of the ways that this difference manifests itself, and I was okay with that. However, I'm always open to new data and I stumbled across some at one of my new favorite websites, tnr.com. Basically, it says that, "gender bias and sexism could play a bigger role in academic achievement than we probably think," and it backs up this comment with some studies from other societies that show no gender gap in math test scores, and also that the gender gap in college-level math is much smaller when a female is taught by a female professor. Let me also mention that the gender gap problem with math and girls is also seen with reading and boys.

So, what can we learn from all of this? Well, I think that this information can teach us something about how to raise our children. Because this little-recognized problem is allowing both genders to slip through the cracks in areas that they might otherwise excel, we can consciously decide to start treating our boys and girls more equally. This is probably more difficult than just making sure you read to your boys and cheer on your girls when they get excited about math, but maybe those are two places to start. Hopefully, just by being aware that the problem exists, we can heighten our expectations of both our boys and our girls, thereby increasing the probability that they can learn to be successful in whatever field they choose.

Good Quote

It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'

- Sam Levenson

My Audience

I expect that most visitors to Respectfully Sassy are looking for updates on Jeff's health or pictures of JD, and I don't really expect that people are much interested in the other things I talk about. For the most part, I've been avoiding posting anything extra because my target audience has become those people mentioned above, and when you write, you really shouldn't be neglecting your audience. However, I'm sure there are a few people who read this blog that will appreciate my musings on life, and my comments about books or being a mom, or whatever else I'm wondering about. So, I think I'll start writing a little bit more about things other than leukemia, white blood counts and Jeff's general state of being. Don't worry - I won't leave those things out, but I am going to add some extra stuff. After all, before I was consumed by being the wife of a cancer patient, I was a real person with my own identity, and quite honestly, I don't want to forget about that person.

Jeff, JD, and Me

Earlier in the week, Jeff had some sort of flu-like bug that seems to have gone away, which is great, because neither of us were looking forward to another trip to Hershey so soon. Little problems like this remind us that we aren't out of the woods yet, but it was reassuring that he was able to get over the illness without any extra interventions. Anyway, enough about Jeff. I would much rather talk about JD!

Easter morning JD found his basket (right in the middle of the living room), and immediately started babbling about his excitement. He opened up a camouflage plastic egg (I have no idea where the Easter Bunny comes up with these things) and had a quick bite of a peanut butter egg before moving on to opening his present. As soon as he saw the Little People airplane, he said "Oh, Wow!" Now, keep in mind that JD doesn't say too many (if any) words yet. He is limited to, and I may be stretching things here...Da, Ma, and Dog - which sounds a lot like Daaaaa, which he yells, while pointing at Hallie and Chance. So, it was quite a treat to hear such profound words come out of his mouth. He also got a pair of light up sandals, which he wanted to put on right away. I'm afraid that his little piggies are sticking right out the end of these size sixes. The kid has big feet.

I am enjoying having things back to semi-normal, and when I got home from work yesterday, Jeff was feeling well enough to watch JD while I took a nap. I felt like a new person when I woke up, so JD and I whipped up a pot of chili (JD helped by getting all of the potatoes, onions and pans out of the cupboards and throwing them on the floor) and played together until it was his bedtime. After that, Rhonda and I did our P90X workout (we're in Week 4) and I finished off the night with a soak in the tub - which by the way, Rhonda, felt like I was bathing in Icy Hot. I'm not sure if I like that stuff!!

Happy Easter

Well, we got to spend Easter at home and everyone is feeling relatively well. Jeff had another check-up last week, and his blood work, once again, looks good. Because of the rapidity at which AML hits its victims, it will be a long time before we won't be worrying about Jeff's blood work. But, like I tell Jeff, we have to live each day one at a time and expect him to remain healthy, because if we spent all of our time worrying about a relapse, then what's the point of living?

Jeff is continuing on his way to recovery. He feels well most of the time, but is a bit wired and quite unlike himself from the steroids. As he is weaned from them over the next few weeks, I expect that my normally laid-back husband will start acting a little more like himself. His drug regimen is still pretty extensive, and in addition to prednisone, includes an anti-viral, an anti-fungal, an antibiotic, anti-anxiety medication, insulin, prescription strength Prilosec, and two immunosuppressants. So, you can imagine that life isn't quite back to normal yet, but it's way better than it was a month ago.

Too Cute Not to Post

Yellow Boots