2010... one more time...

I arrived in New York on Monday (Jan. 3rd) for a Dr.'s appointment and to check into the Hope Lodge NYC. I had been complaining that my stomach hurt and was distended. When the doctor was finally able to examine me, they sent me to Urgent Care to drain the fluid. After it was drained, I felt 10x better. (They drained 4.5 liters of fluid from my abdomen!)


Katie arrived in NYC on Wednesday and helped settle in at the Hope Lodge. The place is a nice size and very comfortable. Only 2 things Katie would change: 1) we have 2 twin beds, so we are the Cleavers (we are trying to get into a new room with one bed so we haven't yet settled in (i.e. Unpacked) in this one 2) the couch is not a nap-able couch, so we will have to work around that a bit. There is ample closet space and the bedding is nice as well. They have a common area for a kitchen on each floor and a floor for guests to visit. No guests upstairs in the rooms.


I spent Thursday wandering around New York and walked about 80 blocks, while Katie stayed back at the Lodge working. We met with the doctor in the afternoon and they talked to us about the possibility of NOT being admitted on Friday - for a couple reasons. 1) somewhere the appointment for my first dialysis (Leukopherisis) treatment was not scheduled for the 18th as it should be and they did not have any space for an additional appointment. 2) the hospital is over-capacity right now. I am a priority because the extraction schedule is so complicated, it cannot be diverted from. We heard from the nurse Friday afternoon and I am now scheduled to start for sure on Sunday (tomorrow) This also pushes back the timing of when they put in the catheter.


Our Address (until we change rooms, which we think will only be at the end of February)
Allen R Lee
American Cancer Society
Hope Lodge New York City
132 W 32nd Street
Room #1108
New York, NY 10001
Phone # - 212 897 4420 x1108

(you need the room number only for Mail, UPS and FedEx packages do not need the room number)

I'm looking forward to getting started tomorrow so I can put this all behind me and get on with my life.