Gettin' Trunky for Home

Each time a baby is born in this hospital, a lullaby/chime/bell ringing thing goes off throughout the hospital. If it's twins or more, it goes off multiple times back to back. It was really sweet to hear when we first arrived. It's NOT so sweet anymore. According to William, "It's so annoying!" He's right. It is!

It's a struggle to get him out of bed to go to the bathroom. Not because we aren't physically strong enough or because he isn't able, he's just discovered how convenient it is to roll to one side and pee in the bottle we use to measure his outputs. Boys! It's already so convenient for them and now this!?! So we have a deal (in the hospital and only because he's being pumped with fluids) that he gets out of bed during the day and at night we'll hold the bottle. Oh geez! I didn't realize I signed up for some things when I signed up for motherhood!

Last night (pardon the missing post) William had a sleepover with Grandma in the hospital. The best part was getting to watch a dvd of Shrek The Final Chapter. How is that, you ask? It was just barely released in the theaters. Thanks to an awesome Aunt and Uncle in NYC and a trip to the Chinatown bootleg district (shh!)....We had a good laugh. And Ryan and I spent our first night together at home in 2 weeks just holding and snuggling our other boys. We'll unpack the bags we brought home from the hospital another day.

So yesterday and today have been busy getting ready for discharge. YES! DISCHARGE! He will finish chemo tonight and if all things go as planned, be home tomorrow evening.

We met with the nurse practitioner and went over in great length, the details of his treatment, calendar of appointments, dosages and schedules of meds, and the long list of limitations on our lives for the next 9 months. But we're taking one day at a time. To get to the point, we will be living a life of seclusion. The risk of infection is very high with the intensity and timing of each chemo cycle. Each cycle of treatment begins with a minimum 4 day stay in the hospital. Then he comes home, his blood count drops the first week, then it comes back up the next week, then he is re-admitted for the next cycle. During the home stays, he has 2 blood count checks a week and possible blood transfusions if his red blood count and platelet number drop too low (very likely to happen several times throughout treatment).

Today was full of other excitement for William! It started out with physical therapy, for which he was not thrilled until Millie the dog showed up. William got to walk Millie around the floor for exercise. It's amazing what a pet can do! Too bad I'm not getting suckered into that one. They also carry a lot of bacteria and germs!

William also had a visit from his 1st and 2nd grade teachers! I just love it that teachers are still his heros!

The other big event of the day was the a visit from the wish fairies. The children who spend a long time in the hospital are asked to make 3 wishes--usually along the lines of a favorite meal, toy, movie, etc. One is granted. William's received a big space police Lego set. He was thrilled.

We are in good spirits. Will sipped his protein shake, but Sam helped boost his caloric intake with a Peanut Butter Moo'd from Jamba Juice. (highly recommended to those who thought they only served fruity things!) Thanks Sam! We had a heated discussion (as heated as you can get with an 8-year old hooked up to chemo drugs) about what we need help doing and what needs to be done on our own and what William would like me to cook when he gets home. But we'll focus on one day at a time and get this fighting boy home!