Monday's are going to be Caleb's field trip days for the next few months. I use the term "field trip" loosely - really outing to the hospital for chemo. Today didn't rank as one of Caleb's top 10 days of his life - it would be MUCH further down on his ranking. He couldn't have anything to eat or drink prior to his sedation and that was around 1:00 pm. On an average day, that would be hard but pumped with steroids that give you a serious case of munchies it is grueling for a little guy! His big brother is up for "best entertainer" as he got really creative with his efforts to distract Caleb from the fact that he was hungry, thirsty and not excited about this so called, "field trip"!
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| The Zach and Mommy Show - LIVE!!! |
After the complete opposite of an enjoyable morning Caleb went for his treatment. He had a spinal tap and chemo injected directly into his spine under sedation. For such a miserable morning he looks simply precious resting in recovery!
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| Recovery Room! |
Caleb and his crew (mommy, daddy and Zach) are back home tonight. Let's pray they can get some rest - a simple thing that is such a challenge in times like this!
Stay strong and remember how much you are all loved! We are all still praying and the number of prayers are increasing as we share Caleb's story.
ReplyDeleteStay strong and remember there are many many prayers going up for you and your family. We all love you and want the very best for you. Prayers are going up every day from every where. Love and Hugs to you and your Mommy and Daddy and Zack. Zack is one of your best supporters and he loves you so much, we can tell from looking at all the pictures we see with him with you. Love to Caleb from Your Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Betty
ReplyDeleteSupport and prayers from this corner of Houston.
ReplyDeleteWilson's - Like you, my son was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago. I feel so bad for you because it is a tough thing to go through and I know how you are feeling right now. Once you get over the initial overwhelmness of it you get into a groove and actually get good at it. It definitely changes your life but you just go with the changes and take it one clinic day at a time. Then believe it or not, some day that's not THAT far down the road you look back at it and realize that everything is fine and it's time to get on with your life and Caleb's life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how far out it seems to be right now.
ReplyDeleteJust remember that you are not alone. Not only are the doctors and nurses there to help you but there are other families who have been where you are right now. We were lucky enough to get to know a very special young lady named Devin Duncan and her family. Devin was a teenager in the middle of chemo for her 2nd fight with cancer in her lifetime. I'm not sure if they even know how important they were to me helping us through it. Her mom was a friend to talk to, her dad started a Caring Bridge page that I read every time something new was posted because it helped me know what to expect and helped me learn more about counts and ANC and blood pressure and how all that worked with chemo. But it also helped because a lot of things happened to Devin but they just took everything in stride. Always positive, always looking forward. Devin especially. It was her second time so she had a lot worse chemo than my son did but she was so positive and was always there for all the little kids to visit with when she was in the hospital or the clinic...even when I knew she couldn't be feeling good.
I didn't mean this to be about her but I just read a blog post she just wrote and it brought back so many memories and made me realize how much she helped. And my point is, there are other families that you will see when you're in the hospital or at clinic that may be a little farther along than you. Lean on them, they can help.
And of you ever get a chance, Devin has made some speeches raising awareness for children's cancer and speaking out for all of our little kids. Look her up on YouTube and listen to her because she is so positive. the first time I heard her she gave me hope knowing that she went through the same thing my son was and came out of it the way she did. She’s a little bitty thing and so nice and sweet but inside she’s a fighter. And if I had to think of one thing that she said that I would say to anyone else going through this. You can choose to be sad or you can choose to be happy. She “chose” to be happy. With everything these kids go through she still chose to be happy so I decided that I would too. The next few years are going to be full of good days and bad days. Bad days will be there and you can’t always make things better for your son but you can always be there with a hug for him. You just have to do the best you can on bad days and then really focus on the good ones. It may not seem like it but there really are a lot more good days than bad ones and you really learn to appreciate the good ones.
Hang in there..... The toughest part is that you have to be just as tough as they are....and they are a heck of a lot tougher than you think...God is running the show...and we are simply here as soldiers for the kids...you will look back on this and marvel at Caleb's strength to pull through...and at your own as well...
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