First point of order:  daratumumab infusion #6 is a thing of the past!  I was at the hospital at 6 AM, but somehow my name had fallen off of the schedule, so it took a little while to get me back into the system.  Favorite nurse Katie was back on board, along with Sarah, the nurse who has just moved from taking care of babies to the clinical research unit.  So I had an incredible double team–they managed to get me back on schedule, and I was out the door by 11 AM with zero reaction.  As usual, the pre-infusion Benadryl knocked me out almost immediately, and I was relatively comatose for much of the day.  But here is the really good news:  Delaney and Kendall Ozmun were my nurses for the day!  More on that fab deal below, but first, here is proof of #6:

6 down, 10 to go!!

Now on to the birthdays-can-be-great moments.  Delaney Ozmun came to Rochester on July 4th to celebrate Independence Day and her mother’s birthday!  She landed in Minneapolis in the evening, but we made it back to Rochester in time for hot dogs and fireworks over Silver Lake.  We learned that it is not acceptable to sit in the Blast Zone, especially on a fence surrounding a natural gas line–all good things to know.

We took Delaney to Downtown Rochester on July 5 so that she could experience all the offerings from the downtown Rochester restaurants–plus I needed to restock my supply of fudge for the week (for informational purposes, this week the purchase consisted of two squares of milk chocolate that had been appropriately decorated for July 4th, one square of rocky road, and one square of salty chocolate caramel).  Delaney and I then hit the pedicure place for good measure, before returning home to head over to . . . the Honkers’ baseball game!  Sadly, the Honkers continued to disappoint, although the beer and hot dogs were pretty good.

I hit the wall on Friday, July 6, and was down for a good three hour nap-athon.  When I work up, Delaney took me outside to get some fresh air, since I felt woozy.  Imagine my shock, surprise, and delight when this showed up around the corner!!!

Kendall Ozmun in Rochester–a surprise birthday present!

Kendall Ozmun was my birthday surprise!  No one even gave me a hint that she was coming; in fact, I had texted her to FaceTime that day, and the sneaky child told me that she wasn’t going to be available until the evening.  Both children with me in Rochester for my birthday–what a wonderful gift!  They enjoyed Forager, our favorite restaurant, for dinner and for beer.

Forager, at the high/low bar.  Pre-pizza.

We hit Terza for birthday dinner on the 7th–delicious Italian food, homemade pasta, yum.

So happy to have my girls in Rochester!

David headed home on July 8, and the girls and I had a fine time together.  Of course we had to take Kendall to (inflict upon Kendall) a Honkers’ game.

And I am sure the girls most enjoyed the Amish inning, sponsored by the Amish Furniture Store, in which there is no electricity used (megaphone only to announce the batters); Slider the mascot carries an Amish advertisement; and the announcer wears a fake Amish beard.  Oh, the ways of the Honkers . . .

Kendall headed back to Austin on July 9th, and I have had a lucky few more days with Delaney, who flies back to Portland and to work tomorrow morning.  So I believe I am correct–birthdays can be great, even when you are participating in a daratumumab clinical trial in Rochester, MN.  Plus I got cake.