Another good day

Here Caleb relaxes in "my" chair as he receives his chemo. In this picture and the one that Caleb took, notice the fluorescent marking and the bag over the right side of the medicine pump and bag. These are to protect the rest of us from what is flowing through Caleb's veins.

Caleb's friend Anna came for a visit today. They had Mcdonald's together and then played with the medical dolls (like with Nella during our first week, see earlier posts). Anna and Caleb had a really great time together, it was like old times. Although I do wonder who enjoyed their time more, Caleb and Anna or their moms.

We are at the end of another day. This marks day 3 of this hospital stay, and we are hoping for a better night's sleep. We moved last night to a new room in the hopes that a younger roomate will have a more compatible schedule. This morning that new roomate moved out and so we have a double room to ourselves, for now.

This morning Caleb received 3 chemo drugs, one of which is still being given. Methotrexate, as he properly says, is being given over a period of 23.5 hours. It's a bright yellow medicine, and it makes his pee bright yellow too! It's important to be watching his pee, because this is how his body will eliminate the medicine. Once the medicine is undetectable, we will be able to go home (pending no complications). He's taking the medicine well so far, 15 hours in. We'll pray for that to continue. There can be some irritating and very painful side effects from this drug. Hopefully that doesn't happen for him, or at least not too bad.

It amazes me that something so awful can be so good. I've been trying to find the right word for how the awfulness and goodness are wrapped up together, and I haven't found it yet. Catch 22 is too simple. Paradox is too dry. Antithetical seems not quite appropriate. The badness and the goodness need one another. We have to have the bad chemo in order to get the bad blasts out. So then the bad chemo becomes good. But its still bad, especially for the rest of us who don't have so many bad blasts. Caleb has a new mouth medicine, now that prednisone is done. The short name of it is 6MP. Caleb was very worried about a new medicine, but now that he's had it, he says it tastes like icecream. Hurray! Except it's a very potent medicine as well and probably shouldn't spend a lot of time on his tongue. So, good that it tastes good, but bad that it tastes good. Ah well. The good and the bad need one another in order to make things complete.

Caleb's friend Anna visited, which was a huge highlight not just for Caleb, but for me, too. Child life specialist Maria led them through medical play, like she did with Nella and Caleb way back in June. Caleb and Anna had such a good time together, it was refreshing to watch. It's reassuring that there is something more normal out there and we're slowly finding it.

Thank you for your continued prayers and care for us.

J