Back in the States

And here we are, back again! We flew in to Seattle, went through my annual Long Covid RECOVER Study medical testing, and bought a car. Due to the vagaries of the governments of the US and Canada, we had to make a pretty quick exit from the Pacific Northwest and rush off the Sweetgrass, MT to have our Nexus interviews.  

The new wheels (relatively new, it's a 2018)

That completed, we are now taking a leisurely lap around the Mountain West visiting friends and family. We started with Mark and Jenn in Helena, MT. We visited Mark last year during our crossing, and when we walked in the door this year we were greeted with the big news - they're engaged! So Mark's June-Boy now has two cat siblings and everybody is happy.

Brian with June-Boy last year. Because I dropped the ball on blogging.

With Mark, also last year, because I forgot to take photos this visit.

While in Helena, we took the tour of the Montana State Capitol, which was very cool. It was the first state capitol building built with electrification: yay copper mine money! The funniest thing were the original seats in the gallery which have wire hat holders under them, for your Stetson. We did some other random stuff, including buying a car cover. Mt. Spurr in Alaska is threatening to blow and I figure all the protection will be sold out before we make it home. Best to be prepared.

Next we popped down to Teton Village, WY and hung out with the Zs. Brian and I hit the mountain (he on a snowboard, me on skis) and it felt amazing. We also watched some great films and had a wonderful time.

We're now in Ketchum, ID where the World Cup ski races are being run. We've been out enjoying the festivities (mostly people watching), fireworks, and watching the races today. I'm hoping to hit the mountain soon. The weather has been....variable. In the meantime, we've had quality family time and sourdough waffles. The important things in life.

We'll be heading north to Alaska soon....

~Lucy  

Trials and Tribulations

There were some Philly and cross-country adventures that I will have to come back to, but the big reason for being in the Lower 48 for May was the RECOVER Clinical Trial. As the literature says, "Together, we can explore options that may help improve Long COVID symptoms." There are five trials happening, and I was sorted into a drug trial. Fear not, the drug in question is Paxlovid, already FDA approved. The hypothesis behind this trial is that some long covid symptoms are caused by remnant virus lurking in our bodies. So, dose with Paxlovid and knock it out. The usual prescription for the drug is five days. In my cohort there were three options:

• 25 days of Paxlovid
• 15 days of Paxlovid, 10 days of placebo
• 25 days of placebo

These options were randomized (all participants traded in their drug boxes on Day 15, so you really didn't know). They say will let us know next year after the results are analyzed what we actually got. However, a 25 day does of Paxlovid is unusual. During this trial they drew blood (19 vials, again) four times. In part, to monitor liver function to make sure the drugs weren't causing organ distress. With all the blood draws and testing appointments, we needed to stay in the Seattle area the whole month.

Paxlovid is actually made up of two drugs - Nirmatreliv and Ritonavir. Just to make things extra fun, the second drug is the one that causes a brunt, tarry, melted plastic taste in your mouth. And while only 6-8% of users get that taste (tho everyone I've ever talked to has had it), we all got that drug so everyone would take the study seriously and take all the drugs. It was seriously gross. The bad taste did not fade or go away for the entire dosing period. And at the end of it the clinicians warned that it could take an additional 38 days for it to fade. Luckily, I was clear 24 hours after.

On the other hand, there are a lot of side effects associated with Paxlovid. I have to be honest and say I'm pretty sure I'm in group 1 or 2 because taking the pills made me super sick. I'm not going in to all the details, but suffice it to say, ick. I had hoped to spend more time visiting friends and family during the month, but my energy did not allow for much.

Dosing is now complete, but the trial continues through November. I will return to Seattle in August for more testing, and continue to fill out my weekly questionnaires. 

The question now is: did it help? I don't know. I feel so much better being off the drugs that it could just be a rebound effect. I was feeling better before the trail, which made it hard to take such a swift dip down. But I'll keep you posted!

Seattle

We're spending time in Seattle while I get through my RECOVER Long Covid study tests. This is not a hardship. We've managed to spend time with family, friends, and see the springtime blooms. We also attended a chilly early season baseball game (before Seattleites get their hopes dashed, yet again), and went to the Nordic Museum. It's in a new building since I was there last. Quite nice and good displays. I enjoy revisiting my roots!

Mariners vs Red Sox - we won! (with Cousin Donna)

In the National Nordic Museum

One of the Trolls

~Lucy

Long Covid Update

Once again, I have failed to blog about so many things. I'll try to play catch up, having been scolded by a few people (hi Dad!). Brian and I are currently in Seattle, where I am going through my annual data collection appointments for the RECOVER Study. By data collection, of course I mean being exsanguinated. They take so much blood! But good phlebotomists make it all okay. Plus an EKG, various other heart tests, and a pulmonary function test. So much fun.

But this big news is that the study is moving from data collection into clinical trials. I will be participating in a drug trial, beginning the first week of May. Of course I may end up on the placebo, and it may not help anyway, but looks like I’ll be spending 25 days (+/-) in Seattle, then 3-5 more possible visits through the year. Thank goodness I have airline miles. I only have to be at the hospital on 3-4 of those 25 days, so assuming I’m not getting terrible side effects from the drugs, we plan to run around the PNW visiting friends. If you're interested in seeing us, let me know!

And if everything goes as planned (it won’t), we’ll be getting back to Alaska in early June and figuring out life from there.  

~Lucy

Exotic Locale - Seattle!

Okay, obviously not really. We left Spain, flew through Frankfurt, and managed to upgrade from economy plus to business for the 11 hour flight. Definitely a win!

We had a hard date for return to the States, because I had medical appointments in Seattle for the Long Covid study I am participating in. All went well, except I did not get the good phlebotomist this time. That meant a total of two appointments, 6 needle stabs, and 17 vials of blood drawn. 

Being in Seattle also means getting the chance to visit with our wonderful family and friends. One thing about being on the road so long is the distance from people you love. It's been special catching up. And Seattle is in spring bloom! Camellias, cherry blossoms, tulip trees, manzanitas, (more!) jasmine, tulips, daffodils are all showing us their good sides. That said, we've basically failed to take any photos other than of our cousin's cats. Because they are endlessly amusing.

[The alpha and omega of our time out of the US - we left our friends in Philadelphia who have a cat named Mabel, and returned to Seattle where we are staying with felines Felix, Quincy, and Mabel. Popular name!]

Brian has managed to go to both a Mariners baseball game and a Kraken hockey game.  I'm sure he had fun.

In addition to the medical and social aspects of Seattle, we are indulging in a little retail time. Mostly for others. We have bought a car (as a concierge delivery service to my brother), various IKEA goods (for friends), liquids that won't ship to Alaska (various family members). We have about an hour, and then we will launch ourselves north on the AlCan Highway. We hope to be home in Alaska this week.

Cats. Really.

Goofy Cat