Great trip to NY, worrisome thoughts about skin

With Allison Janney after 'Six Degrees'

During three wonderful days in New York, I did not give a passing thought to all of the things that could jump out of the dark – or rather sprout on my skin – and kill me.

I enjoyed showing some of my stomping grounds to a friend who hadn't seen them. We had started with the High Line, which has gotten way too crowded, so we walked two blocks west to the beautiful Hudson River Park , from which you can see the Statue of Liberty, and we did a walk/jog and enjoyed the view. We walked everywhere, even on a day when we got soaked in the rain. I looked at my phone at the end of the day and saw that we had done more than 21,000 steps.

We met a friend at The Plaza and walked through Central Park on one day, and on another went up to my old homestead at 1200 Fifth Avenue. We talked to the doorman, Frank, and then walked up a few blocks to the Flower Garden to look for my parents' bench. Sitting next to the plaque that we got with donations to the Central Park Conservancy after my mother's death, I at first felt so sad that they weren't there with me. Then a feeling of calm enveloped me because I realized that the ARE with me.

Three great restaurants, (Deux Amis, Sardi's, Joe Allen) and two great shows (hilarious Spamilton and thought-provoking Six Degrees of Separation, which sadly closed early) and lunch at a favorite hangout in Chelsea (the Gray Dog), combined together to make it hard to leave.

Back at home, I felt the urge to go to Boston asap to see one of my many dermatologists and find out if I need biopsies on new spots that have sprouted on my face.

At this point I worry more about my skin than about my blood.

True confessions, a couple look worse than they should because I picked at them. When I called and got the OK to apply chemo cream, the nurse relayed that the doctor said not to pick. I asked how you do that, and she said, handcuffs.

The other day I went into a jewelry store in Northampton to get a battery for my watch. While waiting, I tried on some Alex and Ani bracelets that were on sale. One of them had a little trouble going over my hand. The saleswoman asked if I had lymphedema.  I am self-conscious about my hands. I asked why she asked. She said had been a nurse who gave radiation to cancer patients, but when her mother died many years ago of pancreatic cancer she could no longer be around cancer patients. She was thinking about going back. I said she could probably help some people.

I gave her the three-minute summary: leukemia, transplant times four, graft vs. host disease of the skin, hence the swelling, which I thought was getting better.

"Is it that obvious," I asked? She said no; she had just noticed because of her training.

The bracelets were silver that will go with my gold.

A little retail therapy saved the day. At least temporarily, I forgot about the spots on my skin.