East African Safari (one month) June 2023

We haven’t shared much outside family. Our son Nicholas III “Nicky” is in the Fairview hospital in Minneapolis for a minimum of 4 weeks for AML (acute myeloid leukemia) undergoing chemotherapy and possibly bone marrow transplants. His first diagnosis (pancreatic cancer) was wrong and for that we are grateful BUT I think they owe him at least a vacation in Fiji or some other gorgeous tropical isle to recover from the shock and horror of being told he had 6 months to live and then a week later, “Oops, sorry buddy - you ARE dangerously ill but you DON’T have pancreatic cancer.” The AML came on fast and furious. He went from feeling great and taking hikes with his family the week before to all of a sudden not being able to eat (the tumor was squishing his stomach so not even liquids could pass through). He was in unrelenting pain which was finally relieved somewhat when they drained the fluid that was building up in his body - 5 liters! Covid was (and is) raging through Minnesota so the process to get further testing was agonizingly S——-L———O——-W. Hospitals and doctors there are overwhelmed. The initial scan revealed a 5 cm long tumor that appeared to be either on or in his pancreas. He has rapidly lost over 40 lbs (now down to 124) and is on a 7-3 chemo treatment. As of yesterday he completed the 1st round. He can’t eat so receives all nourishment by IV. Nicky has always been trim, fit and healthy - organic food - not much red meat - plenty of fish, fruits, vegetables and healthy grains - no real unhealthy vices - moderate drinker of🍷 and 🍺 the LAST person you’d expect to suddenly become so ill. He didn’t have a family doctor - never needed one until now and he’s glad he has until Dec 15th to switch his insurance to a lower deductible. It’s strange to think that just over a week ago he shared the relief that he had a good life insurance plan in place. Wow! How our lives can change dramatically in an instant! Nicholas and I are going snow skiing soon (Dec 3-10) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Nicky was supposed to go with us. Nicholas and Nicky LOVE skiing together. My Nicholas was a competitive downhill skier (and also liked to jump) and Nicky is also a fabulous skier. Hopefully next year! We had a family video call with Nicky, his wife Allison and our 15-year-old grandson Rowen last night. It was so good to connect visually! It must be awful for Allison not to be able to visit in person because of Covid. She has a busy international (divorce) law practice and confessed it is super hard to concentrate on that right now. Her Nicky (like my Nicholas) does all the cooking in the family and Allison has been blessed with people sending food and gift cards to the point that she hasn’t had to cook yet. To lighten the mood I joked that she needs to keep the meal train going or Nicky might expect her to start cooking when he gets home.