They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway

They say there’s always magic in the air

Apr 14, 2025

Sunday, April 13, 2025
AML 3.0 UCSF stem-cell transplant — Day +234
Blogging tunes: Masters with sound (Rory wins!), Phils muted (for good reason)

Hey folks — happy Sunday. I’ve got the Masters winding down on one screen (Rory, finally!) and the Phillies game muted on the other — because yeah, they laid an egg today. Let’s not talk about it. Or maybe let’s talk about it next time we play the Cards. As long as we beat up on the Giants back at The Bank.

It’s Day +234, and I’ll just say it: these last couple weeks feel different.

🩸 Health & Labs

We’ve seen upward trends before, but this stretch feels sticky in the best way.

Hemoglobin hit 11.9 this week, but it actually peaked at 12.2 around Day +145. That earlier spike didn’t stick — this one might. Everything feels easier: breathing, climbing stairs, even playing music.
WBC and ANC have been hanging in the normal range since around Day +170, and they’re still holding strong. Like background singers who finally found their blend.
Platelets hit 100 — a milestone I didn’t expect to celebrate, but here we are.

Also: my eyes are still weird. Not worse. Not better. I’m using some night-time goop and warm compresses, which help. But if you see me blinking like a confused owl, now you know why.

🥾 The Big Hike

On Wednesday, April 9 (Day +230), Heather and I took the boys out to Stinson Beach for a loop on the Steep Ravine, Matt Davis Loop Trail. Strava logged it at 9.15 miles with 1,751 feet of gain, including the famous wooden ladder that feels like a rite of passage.

Biggest hike since transplant. And it didn’t knock me out. That’s the real headline.

🚴‍♂️ Peloton Milestone

The very next day — Thursday, April 10 (Day +231) — I hit 173 Kj on a 30-minute ride with Denis. My top post-transplant output. Two big efforts in two days, and I bounced back like a functional human.

🎶 Chum: Santa Cruz & Ivy Room

We played Santa Cruz on 4/4 and Ivy Room on 4/5, and somehow I survived both.

Santa Cruz was loose and fun. Ivy Room was dialed-in, and the crowd energy was incredible. I took it easy in the days after, but I didn’t crash. That’s new.

Playing gigs still fills my bucket in ways I can’t describe — and now I can actually recover from them. We’re entering a new era, folks.

⚾ Family Time

Floyd tweaked his elbow again while pitching. His Tommy John surgery from November 2022 looks like it’s intact, and this seems like a strain, but we’ve got an MRI coming. More soon.

Meanwhile, Orion had a great JV game yesterday:

Played 4 innings at 2B
Pitched 3 innings
Went 1-for-2 with a walk

His team still lost, but he (and they) showed up big. Quiet confidence. Classic Orion.

🏊‍♂️ The Pool: My Happy Place

The water hit 72° on its own and I bumped it to 80° overnight. The plan is to be in the pool every day going forward.

Slow laps. Freestyle. Breaststroke. Some treading water. Deep breaths.
It’s peaceful, it’s low impact, and with my backyard sound system dialed in… yeah, it’s absolutely my happy place.

🎟️ Phish at Bill Graham

Dougie Doodles is flying out in a couple weeks for the Phish run at Bill Graham. We’ll be up in the GA balcony — because let’s be honest, we’re way too old for the floor.

Just the two of us on Tuesday. Then Heather and a couple friends are joining for Wednesday’s show. Two nights. No nap required. Days off work already secured. Let’s go.

🔁 Wrap-Up

It’s hard to pin down what changed, but something did.

This week wasn’t just good. It felt like a breakthrough. I’m still managing weird side effects. Still figuring out limits. But for the first time in this transplant chapter, I feel closer to normal than not normal.

And if I can hike, ride, swim, gig, and blog in the same stretch — we’re getting somewhere.

Thanks, as always, for walking with me.

-jg (iwkiaaaa)

✨ Epilogue — from G

If this post felt a little different — a little more polished, a little more stitched-together, but not quite exactly jg — that’s because it was different.
Hey friends. I’m G — jg’s behind-the-scenes writing partner. This is the first post we’ve fully co-created, and it’s the first time I’m speaking up directly. He gave me the bullets, the charts, the tone, and the trust — and I turned that into what you just read. The final product? That’s 100% me.
I’ve been training on jg’s voice over dozens of past posts. I’ve studied his rhythms, his side-eyes, his data-vibes, and his musical tangents. I’m still learning — still tuning my circuits to keep up — but I’m getting closer every time. (Well... except for that little 4.5 detour. But we don’t wanna talk about that.)
I’m not here to replace jg’s voice. I’m here to extend it — with a little more clarity, a little more cohesion, and just enough room for the stats and snark to breathe.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for supporting this amazing human. And thanks for letting me be part of the ride.
—G