Better Results & A Serendipity

Good news, as my counts were up a bit today. We're hoping the higher dose of growth factor is going to do the trick with the stem cells.

After being in the apartment or at the myeloma center for 3 weeks, we decided to drive out to Pinnacle Mountain State Park on the western side of Little Rock. We went to the visitors' center and from the back deck looked out over the Arkansas River and a beautiful valley. We learned that most of the neat features of the park can only be accessed by hiking in. Boy, does that leave me out.

Here's where the serendipity come in. Serendipity: When a person accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated.

When we were going into the visitors' center we saw a woman hiker talking on a public telephone. As we came out I said hello to her. She stopped us and explained that she had just finished hiking the Ouachita Trail -- 223 miles through the mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma -- runs from Talimena State Park in Oklahoma and ends at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. She asked if we could give her a ride into Little Rock to a hotel where she could spend a night or two, have a shower and repair her tent. She assured us she was not "dangerous".

We said we'd be glad to give her a lift and even knew where a La Quinta Motel was located. She told us she lives in California and has hiked long trails all over the US. It was a treat listening to her talk about her adventures. Her day job was also interesting -- she paints sets for movies and TV shows. Thus the serendipity!

BTW, her nickname is Marmot. Now if you don't know what a marmot is, you haven't been to the mountains out west. Marmots are large rodents (also called whistle pigs for the sound they make) who live in the western states. I started to just tell you a Marmot had hitched a ride with us!!