What folllows is a Holiday Letter from Kay and I:

What a year!  On my 67th birthday (January 23), I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer that resides in the bone marrow.  The treatment regimen for this type of cancer calls for four cycles of drug treatment to attack the cancer followed by a stem cell transplant.  Multiple myeloma is a cancer that does not have a cure, but it can be controlled.  So far, the treatment seems to be working well.  I feel great, and the doctors tell me that I can resume planning to go on the Camino de Santiago, a 500 mile walk in the north of Spain!

While I was coming to terms with the idea that the rest of the world would be traveling, going out, and having a good time, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do these things because when a person has a stem cell transplant, they go through a 100-day period of recovery.  During this period, they are extremely susceptible to infection and so they need to stay in quarantine!  I didn’t realize that my 2020 quarantine experience would be everyone’s experience!

Because the stem cell transplant destroyed all of my immunities, it was necessary for me to be reimmunized.  Last week I got my first round of childhood vaccinations. Three shots in the left arm and 2 shots in the right arm.  I got vaccinated for Polio, Pneumonia, Hepatitis B, Meningitis, Shingles, and the Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis).  Of course, the vaccination I really look forward to getting is the COVID-19 vaccine!

After 9 ½ months and counting, COVID-19 continues to play a big part in our lives. Despite living only 6 blocks apart, we had not been having much in-person contact with our daughter Lydia, her husband Jon, and our granddaughter Luna since mid-March.  My vulnerability to infection was one reason we stayed apart.  In September, after completing the 100-day recovery period, Kay and I formed a family “bubble” with Lydia and her family.  Since then, we have enjoyed meals together and Kay and I regularly take Luna at our house to give her parents a rest from childcare while they work from home.  The five of us spent a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend at our school house in the Flint Hills.

Kay and I snuck out of town in September to spend a week at a cabin at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp in the Colorado Rockies.  Although it was early September, a fierce snowstorm arrived at the cabin the same time we did.  It snowed about 6 inches and we enjoyed being isolated in the cabin with plenty of wood and a good wood burning stove as the only source of heat.   After a few days, the sun melted most of the snow and we were able to take some wonderful hikes. 

We hope this holiday season finds you healthy and happy!  We look forward to a time when we can all get together and share good food, good drink, and good stories.  Happy Holidays to you all!