Outputs, Pampering, and Pure Joy

If I was to make a list of things I considered pure joy, it would have things like swiss chocolate, long foot rubs, naps on the beach, my family all happy and healthy in our home. I'm sure my list is vastly different than any 8 year old boy. Pure joy is not what William would use to describe the way this day started, but all is finally calm and happy.

Nausea and the need to poop--I know, it sound graphic, but I'm being honest here--have been the cause of much misery today. William has managed to steer clear of vomiting, but along with his scheduled array of nausea medication doses, he had the Benedryl/Reglan combo and Ativan slipped in between doses to stave off the nausea. His appetite is next to nothing, but that's expected with this round of chemo so I'm trying not to stress and just let him relax.

Ryan spent the night and morning with him and had hopes of working from the hospital, but because William was up every 1-2 hours to pee all night, both got little sleep and the morning was spent trying to alleviate the discomfort William was experiencing. Thankfully, my sister, Mary, was still with us so I quickly packed up and headed to the hospital after lunch so Ryan could sneak to the office and get some work done for a few hours.

William was a little loopy when I arrived due to the Ativan, but was much more pleasant than yesterday. I climbed into bed with him and held him for a while. Later, he finally recorded the output that was causing so much discomfort and the world got a little better! Truly. We were all happier.

I recently entered the world of smartphones and apps. Wow! That's all I can say to sum up the amazing conveniences I can live without, but no longer want to. My friend introduced me to Pandora yesterday (stop laughing all you techies out there). It's a free app that plays customized radio stations from the internet. I was trying to think of something fun and relaxing for William to help relieve the stress of the past few days, (it started with me laying off trying to make him eat at all today) so I suggested he take a bath and sit and soak (he loves that--especially when he's at home and he gets the tub without any brothers!) He doesn't get chemo during the day so he was able to be disconnected from his I.V. pole that was just giving him fluids. Hurray! It feels weird being able to walk down the hall unhooked to something. We got all set up in the tub and I revealed my brilliant plan that brought smiles to my sweet William. I brought out my phone, opened Pandora, created a radio station and he sat in the tub and relaxed, listening to some of his favorite music. He was happy and chatty and all smiles. I trimmed his fingernails, lathered him up with lotion, dressed him in fresh PJs, and changed his dressing and caps on his broviac. I imagine he felt as good as I do when I finally have a chance to shower AND shave my legs!!! I loved just pampering him and seeing him so perky and pleasant. Even the nurses had a good laugh at his 180 degree change in mood.

A bath is great, even for an 8 year old boy sometimes. But pure joy came for him when I finally downloaded Angry Birds on my phone. (It was released for the Droid yesterday!) I'll let you guess what he spent the evening doing....