Jack at home, where the fish are still biting

Hi folks. Another update on Jack.

After an initial week-long treatment of chemo and radiation Jack has been discharged from the hospital and is back home. Chemo seriously compromises your immune system and in its immediate aftermath the greatest risk is that of an infection, virus, pneumonia, or other transmittable bug hitting you at a time when your system can’t fight it. Turns out that hospitals are actually high risk environments for communicable nasties. All those sick people, I guess.

So Jack is at home. He has responded well to the initial round of treatment. “Miraculous” is the very word his doctors used. His next round of treatment is scheduled for December 1. Until then the plan is he’ll be at home. Right now he’s just resting, glad to be back in familiar surroundings. The treatment has sapped him so he’s snoozing a lot. Generally he’s been free of many of the negative side effects of chemo. He hasn’t grown a set of horns or a tail (or, cuz it’s Jack, I should say he hasn’t grown a second set of horns and a second tail). A few local friends have been helping out with meals and running errands and they’ve been just great.

If you want to call him, please do. Just don’t be surprised if he doesn’t answer, keeps it short, or takes a while to get back to you. He’s pretty tired. But it means a lot to him. If you are local and want to visit personally, that’s something different. Because of his lowered immune system Jack’s at a lot of risk right now. Much better to call. And definitely do not visit if you have a cold or anything else catchable, if you have young kids (like me–god love em for the little germ magnets they are),  if you are in a business that routinely puts you in contact with a lot of people in an enclosed area don’t go. These are points the doctors stressed. This is a time when simple precautions can help ensure his road to recovery.

If you’re wondering whether with Jack sick you should place and order the answer is absolutely! It’s probably the nicest thing you can do for Jack (and yourself too!). Cancer or no cancer, the bills keep coming, the rent is still due on the first of the month, and the groceries need buying. Dave Skok and I and  other of Jack’s friends are helping him fill orders from items he has in stock–and there’s a lot in stock! If he doesn’t have exactly what you want but has something close, we’ll work with you to see if there’s an acceptable substitution (have already done this with a few folks and it’s working well). He has books, prints, and thousands of flies and many fly selections on hand. And although he not tying right now, he hopes to be within a few weeks. He does, of course, ask your patience through this rough patch. If there’s going to be a significant delay in your order we’ll contact you as soon as possible to  explore the options.

So that’s it. Thanks to everyone for your friendship and care.