Normal Is In The Eye of the Beholder
9-26-06
Jaymun finished up his sixth day
of chemo today. Yesterday he had a blood transfusion since his hemoglobin was
dropping low. His stomach seems to be bothering him a bit today--he's been
throwing up more than usual today. It most likely is all the chemo meds messing
with his poor tummy. The next few days and weeks will be the time period
where mouth sores and infections seem to develop and I'm a bit nervous about
that-the mouth sores can get pretty bad and when he got them last month during
chemo, he wasn't able to eat for a couple of days. All in all, he's really just
being his usual happy self and I'm trying to make sure he eats and sleeps well
to keep everything in balance.
Since his ANC count was still fairly good today, the
hospital let us out on a six hour pass. We need to be careful about
Jaymun being out in public or closed-in places where
germs love to congregate, so a fresh air outing seems to be the best option.
Jaymun and I have been literally cooped up since he was
born-we've gone NOWHERE except back and forth from home to hospital. I wasn't
about to let this day go to waste--it was a golden opportunity to get some
fresh air and exercise (another thing I haven't experienced in a
loooong time!) I called Dave and he brought Sean
and Devon down to the hospital--
In case I sound overly happy about the zoo, I might remind
everyone that this was an unusual day for us. Normally I am in the hospital,
surrounded by the same walls day in and day out, taking care of
Jaymun. Yes, I was what you call giddy. For a few
hours, we seemed like a normal family--taking in the sights and enjoying a
perfect autumn afternoon. Jaymun enjoyed the stroller
ride and seemed to love the fresh air, enjoying a little naptime snooze. Our
boys were excited to race around, pointing out all the animals to us. I could
walk alongside my husband and just pretend for a bit that all was well. Of
course, I know differently..I knew at the end of our little outing we'd be back to the same old hospital room
and Dave would have to drive home without me. But it felt good-no, refreshing-to
just be in the moment together.
There's nothing new I can say about the zoo--animals and
more animals. I'll leave you with this picture of how our outing is different
than other people: we had to give Jaymun
eyedrops and anti-nausea
medication at one point...definitely not "normal", but when I
see how sweetly he's looking at his daddy pushing the syringes into his
central line, I could care less what normal is.
All I see is a perfect day.
