Katrina, Smane and the two stylish-hatted ones

 Had the consultation meeting today.  Last week when I tried to plan the rest of December, we were told that no plans could be made until the consultation meeting.  When Toby said in November he wanted some warning about when he had to travel to Seattle, they told us they could not tell us anything until the consultation meeting.  I asked so many times to get them to bracket the expected start date.  Would it be mid-December or the end of December?  They wouldn't even tell us what month to expect.  All will be revealed at the consultation meeting, we were told so many times. 

We sat through the two-hour spiel from Dr. Negative (as Heidi named him) and not a whimper of schedule info.  So I asked.  All will be revealed, replied Dr. Negativity, after results from another bone marrow biopsy.  This is another bone marrow biopsy.  The five biopsies taken at UMC could not be trusted, of course.  Oh, after the biopsy results, Dr. Negatory and his colleagues would have to reconvene to brainstorm other reasons to put off answering what I really want to know.  I continued to pester Dr. No with my irrefutable arguments about how they should at least be able to give us a not-before date and a no-later-than date for starting treatment.  My irresistible charm must have worked, because Dr. Aintgonnahappen finally relented, stating that all would be revealed after he could look at the scheduling calendar. 

Two floatplanes skimming Lake Union.
This is the view from the transplant floor at SCCA

Looking at the scheduling calendar was evidently a four-hour ordeal, because this afternoon Heidi got a call stating she would need to report back January 12, providing no there were no surprises learned from today's biopsy. 

January 12?  I didn't think starting so late was even reasonable.  All has been revealed and it isn't what I expected.  I've been telling everyone at work that I was fairly certain I would be at work through the end of December, but no longer.  Now they have to put up with me for two more weeks in January.  Boy, are they gonna be disappointed.

January 12?  I sure wish someone had told me during one of the 8 times I previously asked that mid-January was actually in the realm of reasonableness.  I feel like the squarecrow standing with Dorothy after Glenda revealed the simple way to get home.  I should have thought it with my brain.  Perhaps I should have felt it with my heart.  Or maybe . . . no, the lion had no real skills useful in this situation. 

Now we need to make other plans for my week off after Christmas.  Now that all has been revealed, we can plan something.  After telling my coworkers I'd be gone for four months starting in December, then continuing to work through December and telling  them I'd be gone starting January, now I get to come back in January and work for two more weeks.  They're probably getting really tired of this crying wolf stuff.