It’s time to visit Bill at NW Good Sam

Well, he’s in the home stretch now. Bill was admitted to Good Samaritan yesterday for his final doses of chemo, and then the stem cell transplant (followed by quick recovery and years and years of good health!). He’ll be there for about 3 weeks, and he’s really looking forward to visits from his Portland-area friends. Below is a list of things to know before you visit, which I’ve tried to summarize from a variety of sources provided by Good Sam and from what Bill has told us. Here’s a more detailed pamphlet on Guidelines for Visitors, if you’re interested. I know this all looks a little forbidding, but don’t let it keep you away, once you decide you’re okay to visit. It’s actually really easy, and the amazing, cheerful nurses are always ready to help you through it.

First, and most important, through the whole treatment, Bill will be extremely vulnerable to infection, so it’s very important to follow the posted hospital guidelines about hand-washing, etc. According to the hospital guidelines, you shouldn’t visit if you have if any sign of illness — even minor things like runny nose, cough, sneezing, wound, or rash. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue, or your sleeve, when you sneeze or cough, and wash your hands afterwards.

If you’re among Bill’s many friends who keep chickens, be very careful not to wear any clothing  that has come into contact with them or their, ahem, by-products. That includes shoes.

You also shouldn’t visit if you’ve been vaccinated in the last two months, or had physical contact with anyone who’s recently had a “live” vaccination.

When you come into his ward, there’s a sink, and a sign saying to wash your hands, but the nurse told us you can actually wait until you get outside his room: there’s a special sink there. You’re supposed to wash your hands, leave the water on, dry your hands, then use the towel to turn the water off. (It’s posted, but we did it wrong last night.) Then you push his door open without using your hands. Starting next week, you’ll also need to put on a mask, but we assume they’ll post a sign or something. Be careful about touching things in his room, and don’t use his bathroom.

Please reassure Bill about his mustache. He's worried it'll grow back like this, or worse.

Currently, the best time to visit him is mid-afternoons through early evenings. Give him a call on his room phone first. He has a direct line: 503-413-8743.

There are several free parking garages near the hospital. Bill is in the “Main Hospital Building” — click here for a map. He’s on the sixth floor, room 693, and he’ll be in this room through the duration of his stay. You don’t need to check in at the main entrance, but you might want to check in when you walk into his ward, about whether you should wear a mask, and so they can review the sanitary guidelines with you.

I’m sure you’ll find, as we did last night, that everyone is amazingly nice and caring, and that Bill’s room is a really comfortable place to hang out — quiet, cheerful, and a nice view, too. Please email billsbuddies@gmail.com if you have any other questions and we’ll try to get right back to you.

Sad news

I just got an email from Bill asking me to share this with everyone:

My transplantation has been postponed yet again, this time by the sudden death of my dear doctor and friend, Keith Hansen. Keith and his wife, Lisa, who supervises Legacy’s transplantation recovery unit, were with me from the start. They helped me endure the lonely fear and gut-twisting complications of cancer and its treatment, to get me to the verge of the big deal, the actual transplantation. They provided the security, the life-saving competence, and the emotional support that kept me from running off into the trees these last few months. And now he’s gone.

Dr. Hansen was a founder and leader in the development of Legacy’s respected stem cell transplantation program. I was so lucky to have landed him as my own hematologist. So many times I have been told by doctors, nurses and technicians that he was the best in town, and a great human being. Keith was involved in, and excited by, current research into promising new treatments for my disease.

I mss him terribly, and I can only imagine the crushing misery that Lisa is feeling now. The program will pull together, and I will make it through and back to good health, but Portland and all myeloma victims have suffered an incalculable loss.

Benefit in San Francisco, Friday 8/14

Join LBSC today: your membership dues will go towards funding education for young musicians.

The Ladies Banjo Society of CA is having wingding for Bill this Friday, August 14. Sounds like a great time, and you know it’s a great cause. From their website:

Swing through your summer night with the Ladies Banjo Society of California’s summertime square dance at Community Music Center in the Mission District. You don’t know how much fun square dancing is until you do it! All dances taught! Bring yourself, your kids, your mom, your pals, and be ready to rock.

Here’s the details:
Friday, August 14
8-11 p.m.
Music by the Squirrelly Stringband and the Pork Pies
Calling by Jordan Ruyle and Amy Hofer

Community Music Center  /  544 Capp St. @ 21st., San Francisco

$10 admission.

Record heat brings record donations!

A week ago today the Great Northwest Heatwave was just beginning, but in spite of that, a bunch of brave and fun-loving souls in Portland and Seattle showed up for dances to benefit Bill, at the Village Ballroom and Tractor Tavern. I was at the Portland dance, and it rocked. There was such a great feeling in the room that my smile muscles were sore the next day. The total raised at these two events was right around $2000. Truly amazing. Thanks to everyone who gave, the organizers of the events, and the all the bands and callers.

Bill himself was in fine form at the Portland dance. He called a few dances and later played cello with Uncle Wiggily. Up above is a picture of him calling at the Tractor awhile back, with the Tallboys playing. If anyone has pictures from the actual dances last week, please send them (see the “About” page for email address) and I’ll post them as well.

PayPal link now working

Behind the scenes at the "Bill's Buddies" technical nerve center.

We had some trouble getting PayPal donations to work in the last few weeks, and you may have noticed the warnings posted in the donation areas of the blog. Well, they’re gone now, and the PayPal link is working just fine. The problem was a simple one, having to do with an error we’d made in the account set-up. It was easy to fix and everything’s working. So feel free.

We have a list of people who donated during that period and whose donations may have been returned. I just sent out an email to them. But even if you didn’t get that email, and you donated through PayPal in the first half of July, you might just want to check your account and make sure your payment went through. If it didn’t, please consider re-donating.

Thanks for your patience, and our apologies for all the fuss!