LOA

Some of you might know that LOA is Leave Of Absence. Today and tonight, until tomorrow morning, Caleb is on a LOA. Yes, we are home. Today's nurse, Bliss, set us up with all the meds we needed for today, plus doubles in case Caleb throws them up (sometimes that happens, sorry to say). We left the hospital just before lunch, made a stop at Tim Importons on our way home, and ate lunch with the whole family plus Grandma and Grandpa. It almost felt normal.

There are struggles with being home, like I still have to get several doses of meds into him, somehow, throughout the day. He struggles quite a bit, which is what sometimes leads to him bringing up whatever dose I've given him. Not fun. The meds that I give him are to control side effects of the chemo drugs the nurses give him. You could call my job "comfort and rescue." While giving meds is no fun, I know that it's helping him and that keeps me going! Caleb is also quite moody on the steroids, which we were told to expect. Some have told us that the moodiness and other side effects of steroids can seem like the worst part. I believe it. But with each downswing of his mood, there seems to be an upswing.

Being home is very stressful, it sort of reminds me of being home with a new baby. I remember taking Caleb home from the hospital and how ordinary activities just seemed so impossible. At this point, I can't imagine doing this without Grandma! I also remember from bringing a baby home that as time goes on, we learned the ropes a bit more, and it was less anxiety-producing. The hospital is just a phone call away, and the nurses give great advice over the phone (I called twice today, so far). I hope that, Lord willing, being home will become less stressful as time goes on. The work that needs to be done can be figured out somehow, its the stress that I can do without!

Highlights from our day today:
-Coming home to Nella and Aleah
-Eating lunch together
-Caleb napped for 2 hours this afternoon, so badly needed. He doesn't nap in the hospital, but we can tell his body needs it. I think he was relieved to be here, although he can't articulate that.
-Cleaning out stuff from our basement. We are working hard to simplify our living, and that means eliminating much of the things we pack rats have stored for years without using. Possibly this is just my attempt to have control over some aspect of my life, but either way, the end result will be good. :)
-Going for a walk after supper.
-Bedtime with all three kids in their room. They share a room together, and it's so life-giving to hear and see them interacting together at bedtime. It's a special time)

Thank you again for your support and your prayers. We'll go back to the hospital tomorrow morning, and see from there what is next. I know for sure we'll be in tomorrow night overnight and probably until Tuesday at least. Caleb's counts are still very low, so we still need to limit visitors, although my heart shouts, come, celebrate with us! We must keep Caleb healthy, that is priority one!

Love to all,
J

(I'm very sorry there are no pictures. I'm sorry because I have none! I left my camera on, plugged into the computer, overnight last night and the batteries are too tired now.)