Wishing life were fair

I have written about Erica before, in March, when she was searching for a bone marrow donor after having a relapse of leukemia which had been in remission for a year. I only know her peripherally, but we have many mutual friends, and have crossed paths for a long long time. She never found a perfect donor, but they went with an imperfect match, and she has been doing well with that and was leukemia free – until 20 days ago when she relapsed again. That led to more chemo. And today, more bad news. The chemo failed. I am feeling so sad.

Around Rosh Hashanah, my mom emailed asking “Who or what has inspired you in the past year?” My answer was Erica. Both in her personal strength and the way I have seen her inspire other people. She is a very special person, and I’m feeling reminded about how unfair life can be.

Allergic

I am allergic to the East Coast.
Oh, I know. You think I’m being melodramatic again. But you’re wrong.
I mean, quite literally, I was allergic to almost nothing in CA.
Then I moved East.
After a couple years in DC, I developed skin allergies – allergic dermatitis – reactions to airborne allergens that result in itchy rashy arms.
A couple more years in Boston, and I have (presumptively – not yet confirmed) developed seasonal allergic asthma.
That’s right, I moved East to a place where my skin breaks out in rashes and I can’t breathe … literally!
California sounds SO appealing right now. I want to go home. I want to breathe.