As all of my posts have photos, I thought I would add one that I think symbolizes this new future of mine. I took it in Vegas when on a trip with Maria and David Widjaja for Vegas Magazine. That Cirque Show, Le Reve was amazing…and David/Glenn, thanks for visiting me in this hospital the first go-round…miss you both.
#1, Thanks for everyone that has wished me well, prayed for me, lit a candle, had sex in a dark alley for me…ok, well, maybe that wasn’t for me, but thanks anyway…It was still good for me. 😉
I thought it was time to give everyone a Leukemia update…
So anyway…it’s down to the Transplant wire now…I have a donor now and the transplant is only a week away. I’m going in the hospital on the 19th of April. I’m busily trying to get a bunch of shoots in the can, work shoots and editorial, before I go in the hospital for the next phase. When I go in again, it’s going to be right into the fun stuff…4 days of radiation, 2 days of Chemotherapy(sounds more like a mud bath than some crazy cancer treatment, no??…lol). Then, a day off…then the transplant. The whole goal of those 6 days of treatment is to eradicate my immune system completely, so that they can give me the new one…the one from my donor. It’s kind of like an oil change, but for people. 😉 I’ll even take on the blood type of the donor, which is a little like changing your fingerprints…a little strange, but makes total scientific sense.
The best thing is, I get my own room at the hospital…bigger than the last one. I can decorate as I wish. Maybe I’ll print up some of my Evolution work to freak out the nurses. The reason for the single person room is that for quite a while I’ll either not have an immune system at all(and will be at high risk for getting anything), or…right after the transplant…I won’t have the immune system of a new born baby. It’s that kind of fun. The Donor’s marrow/blood will “graft” to my system and begin taking root, if you will, slowly over time. Around a month or so after entering the hospital for treatment, I’ll be let go(based on how I’m doing of course) to continue my healing at home.
So once again, James Weber Studio is going on the road. The studio will stay open and hopefully busy with my friend James Sullivan manning the helm for the studio rentals, business should continue somewhat as normal here. The studio website is: http://www.studio225chelsea.com (shameless plug…lol).
I’m taking my computer so that I can do emails and photoshop work…as well as the occasional movie/video/game and Pandora to keep the musical soul going. I’m a huge fan of Audible.com, so if you have any audio book selections, please feel free to send them my way. I love a good book, and it’s a great way to pass the time while retouching or other multi-tasking.
Big advance shout out to my girlfriend Maria, my Mother, Father, Step-Dad Frank, and my Sister for their love and care in the upcoming hosp. stay. This one’s going to be a doozy, and they’re going to be right there with me. I appreciate all of you greatly. Larry, next door, also has been there for me through the whole thing…thanks, bro.
Connectivity: It’s not like I’ll be far away this time, as I’ll be active on twitter/facebook/email, etc. My phone will still be my cell, 917-882-3724, so feel free to call if you like. I’ll have the time, believe me…I’ll be crawling up the walls trying to get out of that room after a while I’m sure…lol, so get in touch if you like. Visitors are welcome, just call in advance. For a while it’s going to be mask and gloves when the immune system is at it’s most vulnerable…but visitors are still welcome.
Lastly, this and the next two blog posts are all new, so check ’em out. I also moved my blog from blogger to http://www.wordpress.com. I’ve got a new Evolution update and another beauty shoot that I did recently…I’m liking wordpress so much better. I found a theme which allowed me to add larger photos, so feel free to swim around the new blog and see what you think. I like the categories section…which is pretty self explanatory, but blogger did not have…
Took a new self-portrait to mark this phase of things…
Speak soon,
James