Day Six-- A Little Chemo and A Lot of Love

What an interesting journey we find ourselves on.

I am on information overload and figure by the time we get through this, we will all have Phd's in Oncology.

Kean's doc told us today we will be here at least through the end of the week.  We have a Spinal Tap and another

Bone Marrow extraction scheduled for Friday-- so we ain't going anywhere 'til that's done.

Kean is slowly getting better.  And he's now getting to the point he is ready to break out of his hospital jail.

I put him in his little wagon and we circled the nurses' pod oh, about ten or twenty times. 

Who's counting when you have nothing but time.

I think they got sick of us (or dizzy watching us) and checked with the doctor again to allow us to

go down to the children's playroom.  This time, they made Keanut wear a mask (lot's of fun trying to convince a toddler to keep it on).  Thankfully, I finally wore him out and won that battle. 

I think he looks pretty darn cute.  I told him all the young men are wearing Mickey Mouse masks this summer.

It seemed to help.

We had a few friends come by, including my Auntie Daleen and my cousins Kelli and her husband Brian.

And boy did they come bearing gifts!

 Here they are putting together the coolest toy for Kean-- one of many they brought to keep him entertained.

They are experts in this area-- their niece (my other cousin's daughter) got the same exact cancer when she was 3 (she is now almost 9 and is beautiful, smart and all around amazing).

Kelli and Brian brought up toys for Kean, the softest blanket you've ever seen, toys and crafts for the girls to keep busy when they visit and loads and loads of food.  It was so much, that Byron went out and told their children in the waiting area "thank you for sacrificing for Kean all the money your parents would have spent on you for Christmas".  I hear they were a bit mortified!

I also met my "neighbor" today-- a 13 year old girl who has the same cancer as Kean.  She found out 9 days before Christmas and had a severe and very rare reaction to one of the Chemo drugs (one she still has to take about ten more times-- scary, eh?).  She became completely paralyzed and lost her ability to speak for about a week. 

She has finally turned a corner and is able to speak and move-- albeit with difficulty.

I took the girls over to meet Kendra tonight and we will be taking over a piece of Reese's birthday cake to share on Thursday.  It was interesting.  I told the girls they could ask her a few questions, since she was an "expert" in what Kean is facing.  They asked all about her losing her hair.And they are ready to go get Kean's hair bleached- because she said all of her hair fell out quickly except for the strands she had highlighted.

Fascinating.