A Farewell To Lombardi

This week has gone by so fast. We went back to see Dr. Lombardi on Monday. He is the Dr. who diagnosed Will's leukemia and started us on this crazy journey. When we first met him in May he had just arrived from San Diego and was planning to fill in for 3-4 months until they found a permanent Oncologist to replace him. We found out on Monday that they have hired a permanent doctor to replace him so he is on his way back to Southern California. We have only had a handful of interactions with Lombardi, but he is one of our favorite doctors from the countless MDs we have met on this journey.
This time he entered the room looking casual and trendy. In our past encounters he had been so meticulously put together that I questioned whether he had shellac sprayed in his hair. His hair was longer than it was 5 weeks ago when we last saw him and it was combed forward on his forehead instead of his usual combed back style. Dark curls grazed his eyebrows in cool, casual waves that complimented his hipster checkered shirt and striped tie. He was a picture of the local fashion in Chico which is influenced by the hoards of college kids who make up most of the cities' population.
We exchanged hellos and caught up on the progress of Willie's care. Lombardi filled us in on his upcoming departure and said he would be leaving us in the care of a Dr. Talebi. I have come to realize that it is ridiculous to think we will ever have a Dr. with a normal last name!
"Are you excited to go home?" Willie asked Dr. Lombardi
"Oh yeah!" he said, with the most enthusiasm we've seen from him yet "I can't wait to see my kids!"
This was the first thing we have ever heard from any doctor about his personal life. I am constantly wondering about what each doctors home life is like. I can't imagine any of the doctors we have met spend much time at home since they seem to live at the hospital.
We learned the Lombardi has two children and is married to a woman from Italy. His family is currently in Italy where they spend a month each summer reconnecting with their roots. I was instantly jealous as I have visited Italy and fell in love with the country. I should correct myself, I fell in love with the Gelato and my love for the country followed.
There is a Gelato shop on every corner in Italy and every one of them serves the most delicious ice-cream like treat that was ever created. It is nothing like the Gelato you can get in the states, though I can't put my finger on the reason why. Italian Gelato is so smooth and creamy it's like eating a frozen cloud. On our Italian adventure, I took it upon myself to taste Gelato from every shop we passed. It was a lofty goal, but I was up to it.
The most memorable shop we visited was in a small village on the southern end of Italy. We were working our way toward Sicily which is an Island at the end of the country. My brother had left for business so my best friend and I set off on a "power to the women" trip. We booked a hostel in a dusty town and got of the train to discover ourselves stranded in an Italian ghetto. There were bars on all the windows and shady looking people in the streets.
We arrived at the address of the hostel to find a locked gate in front of a dark alley. I remember looking down the dark alley and thinking that it was the place we were going to die. Nothing about the scene was welcoming or safe. We buzzed the bell and an employee came and let us in. He opened the gate that had to be at least a century old and led us down a dark, dank alley. We were both wearing backpacking packs that were heavily loaded and would not have been quick to get away if the need arose. The alley ended and we were guided into a lovely courtyard filled with iconic Italian metal chairs and tables. The hostel turned out to be a nice place, but we were warned about trusting anyone in town. And above anything else, we were warned that we must never be out after dark!
We settled in the room and decided to go out for a walk and get some dinner before dark. It was growing late and the unruly crowd was waking for their nightly prowl. We walked far longer than was comfortable in search of a restaurant with no luck. As the light was fading I grew anxious, but just as we were about to give up we found a tiny gelato shop on the corner. It wasn't the cleanest establishment that ever was, but the gelato was beautiful as it stood proudly behind the glass case. Each flavor had a tiny plastic figurine stuck in it to define what flavor it was; the banana had a tiny banana, the pineapple had a miniature prickly fruit proclaiming it's flavor. My eye was drawn to the bright blue gelato that had a small figurine of a Blue Smurf stuck in it. The flavor below it read "Puffo."
I had to try it!
"Da me un piccilo cupa de Puffo" I said in my best Italian. I had learned this phrase early in our trip and could order any flavor of Gelato with the simple sentence.
"Puuuuuu-Fo?" he asked, drawing the 'U' sound out to a ridiculous length.
"Yes, Puffo." I said
"Puuuuuu-Fo!" she corrected. This time using his hands to show the drawn out 'U' sound.
"Puuuuuuuuuuu-Fo!" I said, mimicking him.
He smiled and blew a kiss to me from across the counter. I had no idea what he had just exchanged between us and hoped it wasn't anything committal. He scooped me a container of smurf flavored gelato and we were on our way. The flavor was somewhere between blue raspberry and cotton candy. It was a most interesting taste that I can still recall whenever I see a Smurf.

Lombardi wished us well and we gave him a great big thank you for the role he has played in this crazy journey. He left the room and shut the door behind him.
"Looks like he's been Chico-fied" Willie said, in reference to the doctors new trendy hairstyle.
I laughed. I wonder if his new style will fly back in So. Cal!
Will's blood counts were good on Monday so he didn't need any transfusions. On Wednesday his platelets were low, but the infusion center was closing for the day so they sent us away and had us come back Thursday for a platelet infusion which went really well.
Willie has been feeling great and has been keeping up with most of his usual daily activities. His white count had been holding at the beginning of the week, but as of Wednesday it has been trending downward. This means he is now back to being in isolation and wearing a mask to keep him from picking up any infections. It's the last place he wants to be, but we can both agree that being in isolation at home is much better than being quarantined in a hospital room.
Friday morning we met our new doctor. Tony Talebi entered the room like a man on a mission. He is a middle aged man with an athletic build and creamy dark skin that peeped at us from unbuttoned collar. He wore a classy striped shirt with the collar popped up in a casual fashion.
"Tony Talebi" he said, as he extended his hand toward us.
I always find it funny when people introduce themselves with only their name. To me, I assume that one must have an overwhelming amount of self confidence if they think their name can replace all other formalities such as "My name is....." or "Hi I am......"
His handshake was warm and his smile was welcoming and we were put at ease. He had reviewed Will's chart and was up to date on his care. He asked a few questions about what has happened so far then looked at our plans moving forward. It was unusual to meet a new doctor who has actually researched Will's case, so we were pleasantly surprised. He asked some questions about our Stanford doctors and announced his plans to connect with them. It was so refreshing to meet a doctor who will join our Stanford team and not try to do his own thing instead. We are happy to have him as our local connection.
He scheduled Willie to get labs three times a week until his counts start rising. If his hemoglobin drops below 7 he will get red blood cells; for platelets the threshold is 20. This coming week he will most defiantly be getting transfusions at some point, but it's all part of getting back to where he needs to be.
We haven't heard anything from the bone marrow transplant team, but hope to hear something in the coming weeks about whether they have found a match or not. I signed up to be a bone marrow donor at www.bethematch.org. They sent me a kit in the mail that included 4 long Q tips. I rubbed the Q tips on the inside of my cheeks and mailed them back to the donor bank. It was so easy that I was afraid I did it wrong, but apparently that is all it takes.

We will be having a representative from Be The Match at Willie's fundraiser BBQ on August 25th at Jensen park at 1PM. Tickets for the event are $10 and are sold at the Health Habit or Jean's Coed. Tickets will be sold at the event for $15. We are encouraging anyone who is eligible to join the marrow bank. We know that the chances of anyone we know being a marrow match for Willie are slim to none, but there are countless people like us out there who are looking for a match that you may be a hero for. I really hope that I can donate my marrow to someone in need as I know what a precious gift it is.
We will continue to hope that we can receive that precious gift.

Have a wonderful week everyone!