...I made this a week ago when I was sitting at home in Boston. It was cold outside and I was thinking of a few of my favorite things. This is a video of my nephew's first trip to Miami.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Message from Joseph P. in Miami, FL
Dear Alpen,
I have been going over to your house to hang out with Sushma and Purvi and your dad while you are away. But sorely missing from the house is you smile and restless drumming hands. When you get back we will go out and try to conquer the rocky and rough roads at Oleta river Park again. I know the family up there is taking good care of you. I hope that your are feeling and doing better. You should post some photos of any drawings you have been doing up there.
Much love,
Joseph
I have been going over to your house to hang out with Sushma and Purvi and your dad while you are away. But sorely missing from the house is you smile and restless drumming hands. When you get back we will go out and try to conquer the rocky and rough roads at Oleta river Park again. I know the family up there is taking good care of you. I hope that your are feeling and doing better. You should post some photos of any drawings you have been doing up there.
Much love,
Joseph
Love from the Miami Workers Center....
Dear Alpen,
We are trying to patiently wait for you to get back here to Miami so we can laugh with you and learn from you. It is cold in Miami right now. You know how it gets a little chilly and people bust out their bubble jackets and scarves and hats. Well it is those days down here. The sun starts coming in real low around 4 PM, hurts your eyes, and you wish for the 95 degree days with 99 percent humidity. We figured these pictures could help you hurry up and get back. Take care of yourself and come home soon.
Much love
Miami Workers Center
We are trying to patiently wait for you to get back here to Miami so we can laugh with you and learn from you. It is cold in Miami right now. You know how it gets a little chilly and people bust out their bubble jackets and scarves and hats. Well it is those days down here. The sun starts coming in real low around 4 PM, hurts your eyes, and you wish for the 95 degree days with 99 percent humidity. We figured these pictures could help you hurry up and get back. Take care of yourself and come home soon.
Much love
Miami Workers Center
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Love from the Jackson 4 in the Bronx.....
Hey Alpen (and family team),
Been following the Blog and am so excited to see that you've been discharged. The Jackson 4 is sending many positive thoughts your way, we are with you! Si se puede! Here’s one of our favorite pics from summer 08 that captures the spirit of the energy we’re sending out.
Much love,
Randy, Brooke, Frida and Ty
Been following the Blog and am so excited to see that you've been discharged. The Jackson 4 is sending many positive thoughts your way, we are with you! Si se puede! Here’s one of our favorite pics from summer 08 that captures the spirit of the energy we’re sending out.
Much love,
Randy, Brooke, Frida and Ty
Monday, November 17, 2008
Breakin O-U-T!
Alpen-ites:
Happy to report Alpen is still recovering well. We were discharged from the hospital on Saturday around 2:30pm--or as Alpen likes to put it---he finally broke out!
We are now staying at an apartment in Boston (thanks Jigna!) and Alpen is slowly gathering strength back. The first 30 days after discharge are crucial--where there is a lot of emphasis on rest, staying germ free, and trying to stay positive and healthy.
I will post more on life after the hospital later, but meanwhile here are some pics from last few days in hospital & of Alpen breaking out of the hospital......Enjoy!
Happy to report Alpen is still recovering well. We were discharged from the hospital on Saturday around 2:30pm--or as Alpen likes to put it---he finally broke out!
We are now staying at an apartment in Boston (thanks Jigna!) and Alpen is slowly gathering strength back. The first 30 days after discharge are crucial--where there is a lot of emphasis on rest, staying germ free, and trying to stay positive and healthy.
I will post more on life after the hospital later, but meanwhile here are some pics from last few days in hospital & of Alpen breaking out of the hospital......Enjoy!
Fab-u-lous
Getting love from his big sis, Palak...
Signing the discharge papers
Signing the discharge papers
4C - 56 where it all went down!
Walking down the hallway after 3 weeks...
Checking out the family room finally...
Fresh air finally...
Hugs!
Checking out Niru Aunty's smile...
Alpen's Entourage
Checking out the family room finally...
Fresh air finally...
Hugs!
Checking out Niru Aunty's smile...
Alpen's EntourageJubilant Pics from Dana K. in New Orleans
Yaaaay alpen. That is awesome news. Hope you are hanging in there.
xoxo,
Dana
xoxo,
Dana
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Off The Charts! Yeeeeah!!
Great News Alpen-ites!!!
Alpen has turned the corner!!! His white blood cell count is OFF THE CHARTS!!! WOO HOO!
The doctors are extremely pleased with his progress. He is recovering at a solid pace and will be discharged from the hospital on Saturday (a few days earlier than expected). While he is still not at full energy, Alpen is doing so much better than the last few days.
Today he got out out of bed, walked around the floor, and broke his week-long food fast with what else than Mexican food--a cheesy bean enchilada by Amy's Organic Kitchen to be exact. He also had his favorite greek yogurt, apple juice, and even some mac n' cheese. He has finally been able to sleep again (well at least more than 2 hours in a row) and is rested enough to stay awake for most of the day....and good thing because Keyur was in town today and brought much needed laughter and energy to the hospital room!
Today was a grrrrreat day. And you should really see the smile on Niru Aunty's face...nothing brighter in this world. In fact, all of us have been giddy all day--you can't tell who is on morphine right now us or Alpen. We (Rahul, Palak, Niru Aunty, Keyur and I) even celebrated tonight with a midnight carrot cake feast.
V is for VICTORY.....
Some celebrate more quietly than others....
So, faithful friends and family of Alpen, you too should celebrate!!! And when you do, remember to take a picture of your celebrations and send them to me so I can post them!!! Cartwheels, toothy smiles, champagne toasts, end zone dances...send them ALL to purvi.nayan.shah@gmail.com
While we are not completely out of the clear yet, and there a few adventures still ahead, things should just keep getting better.
Love,
The Dream Team
Alpen has turned the corner!!! His white blood cell count is OFF THE CHARTS!!! WOO HOO!
The doctors are extremely pleased with his progress. He is recovering at a solid pace and will be discharged from the hospital on Saturday (a few days earlier than expected). While he is still not at full energy, Alpen is doing so much better than the last few days.
Today he got out out of bed, walked around the floor, and broke his week-long food fast with what else than Mexican food--a cheesy bean enchilada by Amy's Organic Kitchen to be exact. He also had his favorite greek yogurt, apple juice, and even some mac n' cheese. He has finally been able to sleep again (well at least more than 2 hours in a row) and is rested enough to stay awake for most of the day....and good thing because Keyur was in town today and brought much needed laughter and energy to the hospital room!
Today was a grrrrreat day. And you should really see the smile on Niru Aunty's face...nothing brighter in this world. In fact, all of us have been giddy all day--you can't tell who is on morphine right now us or Alpen. We (Rahul, Palak, Niru Aunty, Keyur and I) even celebrated tonight with a midnight carrot cake feast.
V is for VICTORY.....
Some celebrate more quietly than others....
Ummm...yeah....endzone dance anyone????
So, faithful friends and family of Alpen, you too should celebrate!!! And when you do, remember to take a picture of your celebrations and send them to me so I can post them!!! Cartwheels, toothy smiles, champagne toasts, end zone dances...send them ALL to purvi.nayan.shah@gmail.com
While we are not completely out of the clear yet, and there a few adventures still ahead, things should just keep getting better.
Love,
The Dream Team
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Go White Blood Cells GO!!!!
Hello Everyone:
Sorry for not posting in a while. Things have been hectic. Between having the flu, work, and packing for Boston, I was swamped! But I am in Boston with Alpen now...so I will be trying to post as regularly as possible. Sushma returned back to Miami on Sunday, so we traded places.
Now, back to the real reason why you are reading this post: How is Alpen doing? Alpen is generally doing good. He is responding to treatment in the expected ways, which means he is pretty low energy right now as we wait for his counts to rebound. A few days ago, he had a fever (which was par for the course) so naturally he was pretty low energy and exhausted that day. They put him on antibiotics and he kicked the fever by the next day. Yesterday he was a little more upbeat: we surfed the internet looking at art and photography, he hung out with Vivek and Palak, ate some Cheerios (first food in a few days) and skyped with the family in Miami.
Today, he has been sleeping all day; been pretty low energy. The nurses say that sometimes the patients get really tired right before their counts start to rebound because their body is using so much energy to grow healthy cells. His white blood cells got a little bit of a bump today, so hopefully he will turning the corner SOON!
If things keep going as planned he should be getting out of the hospital on Monday....lets keep our fingers crossed....
More tomorrow....
Sorry for not posting in a while. Things have been hectic. Between having the flu, work, and packing for Boston, I was swamped! But I am in Boston with Alpen now...so I will be trying to post as regularly as possible. Sushma returned back to Miami on Sunday, so we traded places.
Now, back to the real reason why you are reading this post: How is Alpen doing? Alpen is generally doing good. He is responding to treatment in the expected ways, which means he is pretty low energy right now as we wait for his counts to rebound. A few days ago, he had a fever (which was par for the course) so naturally he was pretty low energy and exhausted that day. They put him on antibiotics and he kicked the fever by the next day. Yesterday he was a little more upbeat: we surfed the internet looking at art and photography, he hung out with Vivek and Palak, ate some Cheerios (first food in a few days) and skyped with the family in Miami.
Today, he has been sleeping all day; been pretty low energy. The nurses say that sometimes the patients get really tired right before their counts start to rebound because their body is using so much energy to grow healthy cells. His white blood cells got a little bit of a bump today, so hopefully he will turning the corner SOON!
If things keep going as planned he should be getting out of the hospital on Monday....lets keep our fingers crossed....
More tomorrow....
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Pics from Sulin & Roona at the Obama Rally on Election Night
From Sulin:
Thought Alpen might appreciate it if I shared some of the photos from Roona, Rahul (Roona's brother) and I attending the Obama rally in Grant Park, Chicago last night. It felt really good to be an American this morning.
All the best, Sulin
Thought Alpen might appreciate it if I shared some of the photos from Roona, Rahul (Roona's brother) and I attending the Obama rally in Grant Park, Chicago last night. It felt really good to be an American this morning.
All the best,
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Thoughts on the Day After....
Missing you all and wishing we could all have a big debrief around the election together. I was sort of in shock yesterday and it didn’t really hit me until I woke up this morning and saw the images of people celebrating across the world and heard stories of how elderly grandmommas in Liberty City came out their houses beating pots and pans. Last night, brown and black people across the world beat drums, blew into their conch shells and danced in the dirt—each claiming victory for themselves, each feeling their own power after a long time.
And so today, the world seems full of new possibilities and my mind is whirring with ideas for our movements and spinning with the lessons buried within this election on democracy, mass-participation, strategic communications, mass-line, messaging, and campaign strategy.
This is huge. I mean huge.
I hope you, like me, are taking a moment today to just rejoice in the reality of winning something so huge. I feel like I have never known what it was like to win something so big. And it is intoxicating.
Instead of listening to NPR and agonizing over the election as I usually do each morning, today, I listened to music that I love and even laughed to myself on my drive to work. (Must have looked crazy). As I looked at the cars whizzing around me, I saw people and wondered if each of them, like me, were a little more humbled, optimistic, and hopeful today---and instead of my usual road-rage at their awful Miami driving, I wondered if they were on their cell-phones re-counting the historic evening with far off-relatives or if they were driving a little slower because they were in utter disbelief about what happened last night.
Funny how Obama can inspire all of this in a cynical, young lefty.
And at the same time, my heart sinks for the anti-gay propositions and amendments that passed in Florida, Arizona and California. The same voters who helped us reach this historic moment in our nation's history also alarmingly voted to take away the civil rights of gay people.
So while we celebrate today, back to work tomorrow....
And so today, the world seems full of new possibilities and my mind is whirring with ideas for our movements and spinning with the lessons buried within this election on democracy, mass-participation, strategic communications, mass-line, messaging, and campaign strategy.
This is huge. I mean huge.
I hope you, like me, are taking a moment today to just rejoice in the reality of winning something so huge. I feel like I have never known what it was like to win something so big. And it is intoxicating.
Instead of listening to NPR and agonizing over the election as I usually do each morning, today, I listened to music that I love and even laughed to myself on my drive to work. (Must have looked crazy). As I looked at the cars whizzing around me, I saw people and wondered if each of them, like me, were a little more humbled, optimistic, and hopeful today---and instead of my usual road-rage at their awful Miami driving, I wondered if they were on their cell-phones re-counting the historic evening with far off-relatives or if they were driving a little slower because they were in utter disbelief about what happened last night.
Funny how Obama can inspire all of this in a cynical, young lefty.
And at the same time, my heart sinks for the anti-gay propositions and amendments that passed in Florida, Arizona and California. The same voters who helped us reach this historic moment in our nation's history also alarmingly voted to take away the civil rights of gay people.
So while we celebrate today, back to work tomorrow....
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Update from Alpen: My Nu Cells
I got my new (old) stems cells back, which will begin the reconstruction and proliferation of my new immune system. The procedure was pretty painless, but it was still an important moment for my body and i gave it all my conscious energy and attention.
I want to thank everyone for each of their positive thoughts and endless love. I am very grateful for this and will never forget how supportive and wonderful people have been.
From this day on, my stay here in the hospital will be less and less eventful, but i will try to keep things interesting.
Love,
Alpen
I want to thank everyone for each of their positive thoughts and endless love. I am very grateful for this and will never forget how supportive and wonderful people have been.
From this day on, my stay here in the hospital will be less and less eventful, but i will try to keep things interesting.
Love,
Alpen
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Photos and message from Laura W.
Alpen--
This is a group of non-traditionally-aged cheerleaders called the Divas. They were the halftime show at Roller Derby in Raleigh early this summer. You can't tell from the photo, but the song they are dancing to is Michael Jackson's "Bad" (hence the single glove) I think the photo's inspirational value, and why they would make one feel hopeful and strong, is pretty self-explanatory!
Take care, and give Alpen a hug for me,
Laura
"The Real World: Haiti"
From Ro(ar)han....
AlPeN mAma,
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! scAreD yA diDn'T i? hAPpy hAlLowEen!!!!
MoMmy iS aTtachINg A PiCtUre oF mE all dReSsed uP froM tHiS eVeNiNg.
HoPe yoU eNjOy iT.
LoVe yOu,
Ro(AR)han
Photos and Message from Liz A. in Chicago
(from Liz & Mark in Chicago)
dear alpen and family,
here are some pics of our garden from this summer/fall.... we haven't been to the hospital room, but we were thinking maybe it could use some plants/greenery? ....
after all, isn't this process about setting new terrain for growth?
OK! so here are some visual reminders of growth, life and new beginnings, yes?
LOVE you everybody. and sending continued
support
love.
ps PUCHIGA -- sushma, we almost forgot -- wanted to send you a picture of your best friend monkey the bear (aka our new dog!)
dear alpen and family,
here are some pics of our garden from this summer/fall.... we haven't been to the hospital room, but we were thinking maybe it could use some plants/greenery? ....
after all, isn't this process about setting new terrain for growth?
OK! so here are some visual reminders of growth, life and new beginnings, yes?
LOVE you everybody. and sending continued
support
solidarity
prayers
thoughts
hugs
smooches
and
love.
miss you all .....
xoxoxo
lizard and mark
ps PUCHIGA -- sushma, we almost forgot -- wanted to send you a picture of your best friend monkey the bear (aka our new dog!)
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