More About My Wife & Adventures in Seattle

Things are finally moving right along with my wife's evaluation and treatment for multiple myeloma. She's now staying at the Pete Gross House while a patient at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. I attended some of her appointments at the clinic last week and learned quite a bit. Her stay in Seattle will depend on how many myeloma cells they find. If below the threshold, she'll be able to skip one of the chemo sessions. If above, she'll have to undergo an initial chemo treatment before they stimulate her stem cells so she produces enough to harvest. This could add at least a month to her stay.

I must say that I'm impressed with all the staff I met at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. They seem to really care about their patients and take the time to explain everything in detail and show you where everything is in the clinic. Alma's spirits seem to be good, especially considering all that she faces over the next few months. Her oldest daughter has set up a web site if you're interested in learning more about Alma and/or multiple myeloma. You can click on http://almajenkinscancersupport.bravehost.com/ or copy and paste the URL into your browser.

There are several things I dislike about Seattle, but my biggest gripe is the absolutely insane way people drive there. Say what you will about the traffic and the drivers in Los Angeles, but I've never seen anything like the aggressive behavior behind the wheels of so many vehicles as I've seen over the years driving in and around Seattle. Absolutely CRAZY!!! I got involved in my first accident in over 46 years of driving while in Seattle last week. I have no idea where the other driver came from, or why she was driving up Mercer street so damn fast and thought she had to pass me, but her car cut in too closely and her right rear quarter hit my right front fender. If she had had a Washington drivers license, we could have just exchanged information and been on our way since there were no injuries and both cars were drivable. But, NOOOoooo – she had a Virginia license (hadn't had the time to get a Washington license in the several months she's lived here). We were advised by the police dispatcher to wait for a patrol car. So we waited. And waited. And called the Cop Shop several times. And waited some more until over four hours had passed with nobody resembling a cop, other than a parking enforcement officer, anywhere in sight.

The other driver called her insurance company and admitted liability (probably her Virginia background) and my car is being repaired at a body shop here in Kennewick. I'm driving a rental which is being paid for by her insurance. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. Nobody was injured, and neither the other driver nor I acted like an a**hole. Actually, she was a very nice young lady and I feel badly that she missed a day of work waiting around for one of Seattle's finest to make an appearance. She promised me that she would get a Washington license before her next accident.