More New Normal

The kids played couch this afternoon. Nella, Caleb, Aleah, and Cousin Luke were buried underneath cushions and Uncle Darren almost took a nap on them!

The steroids diet. Here is a meat and cheese sandwich. To make, lay out a piece of meat and layer several pieces of cheese on top. Roll up the meat as you would a tortilla. Enjoy. Recipe by: Caleb Brand. Every man's dream lunch?

Today was our first trip to the outpatient clinic at Mac. We were told we could be there as early as 7, and we almost were. The kids woke up at 6 this morning. ;( When Caleb and I came out of the elevators at Mac, wondering just where to go first, we immediately saw a young girl sporting a chemo cut and asked their family where to go. We followed them and enjoyed a bit of time chatting together. Caleb had a "finger poke" first, if you've ever given blood (have you??) you've maybe done this before. The nurse was quick and efficient and I was thankful. They use the finger poke sample to get his blood counts. After the finger poke we went upstairs to the clinic.

The clinic waiting room is well stocked with toys and games. Caleb bee-lined for the train table and had a great time with Thomas And His Friends. We were the very first people there (newbies) and so Caleb didn't have to share trains. Nice. We were not bored while waiting. The child-life staff person came and taught Caleb how to play Nintendo DS (I learned too) and before long it was our turn. The nurse went over Caleb's counts, which are still very low, and checked him out. He checked out just fine, although he really protested throughout the whole ordeal. It was all new, and I could see just how nervous he was. It was all quite uneventful, actually, and I'm so thankful for that. We'll have to go back many times, and they won't all be this uneventful.

Today was a good way to get our feet wet in this part of our new normal. I'm so glad it was uneventful, because I was exhausted by all the new learning for myself. Today was a day full of information and experiences to process and incorporate into our new way of doing things. I need a good nap.

After clinic we were able to meet up with Aunt Rhoda for a few minutes. This was really great because Rhoda had been in France and Switzerland for the last month, on a grad school assignment. We had not been able to see her yet. We had coffee and cookies together. I asked the nurse if it would be okay to see Rhoda, seeing as Caleb's counts are so low, and the fact that Rhoda's just been in an airplane. The nurse simply stressed hand washing and good common sense. I appreciate the nursing staff at Mac.

We came home to Aunt Shari and Uncle Darren, who had stayed with the girls for the morning. I was a little wary of having people over, especially children because they carry so many germs :), but I'm glad we had them all over. Cousins Luke and Kyle played with the girls, and when we came home it was so good to see the girls having a great time. Caleb even joined in, as you can see from the couch picture. It was refreshing. We won't be able to do this often because of Caleb's low counts, but it was a really great time.

We continue to be awed and amazed by the support and care shown to us. Please keep Caleb and all of us in your prayers.

J