After work today, I picked up Ethan from his mom’s for a weekend at our house. I told Ethan our plan for the afternoon – meet Daddy at the house; the three of us would go to the doctor’s; we’d hangout after I had my blood work done; then when I went up to chemo, he and Daddy would go home and then drive back to pick me up a few hours later.
Ethan took in all this information easily, but needed clarification on the chemo. He remembered that somewhere along the way, I would lose my hair, but he couldn’t remember what chemotherapy was exactly. So I proceeded to give him the G-rated version of the treatment. I guess I satisfied him because his response after explanation was a relaxed, “Cooooooool.” He was even interested in seeing pictures of my first treatment once we got home. There was a little nose crinkling when he saw the picture of the needle being inserted into my port-a-cath. But upon surveying the picture of my treatment room, he remarked that it looked like a robot lab. And on that note, the topic changed to “Nate the Great” and “Flat Stanley” – books he’s started reading.
Nat arrived home a few minutes after us, so the three of us piled back into the car and headed for the Mays Clinic. Our first stop was to drop me off at the Diagnostic Center where I had blood drawn. Because it takes two hours for results to be processed, we had time to bum around the hospital before I could check in for chemo.
I wanted to grab a smoothie for dinner, so I suggested we head over to the main building’s Smoothie King, and the best way to get there is to go via the 1⁄4 mile sky bridge. For Nat and me, the distance to and from the Mays Clinic would count as our walk for the day. For Ethan, it served as a track for sprints and long-distance practice. The most fun he had on the return to the clinic was seeing if he could keep ahead of the shuttle that runs parallel to the walking lane. He raced ahead of us to the “end of the road.” When we met up with him, we asked if the shuttle riders cheered him to the finish. “No,” he responded with a shoulder shrug and almost a smile. “They just said, “Nice running,” and “You run fast.”
We did a "cool down" walk with Ethan to where I'd say "good bye" to them for the next few hours. As we were parting company at the Tree Sculpture, I expressed to Ethan how lucky he was to have pizza for dinner. He turned to me as he and Nat started their descent on the escalator to assure me that he’d save a piece for me for after chemo.
I’m now tucked into my quite luxurious room – this treatment room looks nothing like the robot lab I was in last week. There’s an armoire with a television and DVD player inside, warm beige paint on the walls and quiet lighting. My dexamethasone (pre-med steroid) drip has been in for about fifteen minutes. With about an hour and a half left to go before I call for Nat and Ethan to come pick me up, I have just enough time to pop in a movie (one that Nat and Ethan would watch politely but not eagerly) and have a little Lisa time.
I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow. Love, Lisa
-MESSAGES-
Hey We missed you at our meeting about the upcoming start of next year. It was interesting not being the "newbies" anymore. V. and I decided that we were in your boat now! You could say we have graduated to the next step, while our newest member still has her glasses on about everything. It is crazy how quickly this year has flown.
G. has started rolling over! She is way ahead of the suggested time schedule, so we have decided she must be gifted! Either that or she is incredibly athletic, and considering her parents, I would say that athleticism is not the case. Therefore, gifted it is! I will send more pics soon.
I am thankful that you still felt okay after your first treatment. I hope the same holds true this time around. You are constantly in my thoughts and prayers! Enjoy your pizza. =)
The Worldview of Children I absolutely adore the worldview of children!!!! I believe with all of my heart that Ethan was sent specifically into your life for that very purpose! Wouldn't it be cool to see some executive come up with a purpose statement for a child?!!!! It would spin them out of control!!!! I would write a purpose statement for a child as follows "To simplify life and to make the dark stuff in life not so bad!" We should all race ahead of more trains and see rooms that are made for robots!!!!! I can see Ethan now when your hair starts to fall out. He will probably create the next Picasso on your head! Life should be filled with scented markers! (Grape is my favorite!)
I thought about you today while I was out at the horse farm. I've fallen in love with a painted horse named Lucky. He is a mess and he makes me laugh! I will see you when I get back from Colorado! I'm going to go race trains now!!!!! Much love and a million hugs to you, Nat and Ethan!
Greetings from Geyre, Turkey You go girl! How happy I am to hear that things are going so well and that Ethan can provide you with an entirely new perspective on your treatment! Lots of healthy thoughts from a small, rural village in Turkey. love, C.
hi :-) How wonderful to have a nicer room this time around! Having a little "Lisa-time" is just what you need! :)
Last night, I went to see Jerry Seinfeld in concert! My best friend M. & I went out for a night on the town! (By the way, if you like Italian food, we ate downtown at Mingalone's...one of our student's dad owns it! FANTASTIC!!!) Anyway, my jaws are aching today from laughing so much!! It was wonderful to see the hustle and bustle of city life and hear the laughter of 3,000 people simultaneously.
Well, keep us posted on how you feel! Continued prayers and ((((HUGS)))) XOXO, M.
Dear Lisa I truly believe that you have missed your calling. You need to be an author - in your spare time. Just reading about your experiences, fears, blessings, and your relationships with your family are heart-warming. There you are going through one of the most difficult experiences of your life, and you are up-lifting everyone around you. The way you write makes me feel as if I'm in the room with you and feeling all that you are experiencing. God bless you, Lisa!
Our summer is a quiet one for now as I patiently wait for this knee to heal. Meanwhile, W. is working diligently at church helping with the youth room expansion project. W. "supposedly" has a ten-hour a week job as maintenance man position, but lately he is putting in more like 27-30 hours. He comes home exhausted, but exhilarated with being busy. When he first retired, he painted gorgeous pictures, and that has ceased for now as he has this other position that keeps him out of mischief, but we (the kids, nieces and nephews, and I) miss his art work. You were not at Goodson when C. and J. had him conduct courses in composition, painting techniques, and color balance for the art classes. Afterwards, many of the kids copied W's pictures from the CD he gave them and they copied the paintings which were displayed up front.
Other than that, we are in between Old English Sheepdogs right now. No new puppies have been turned in to shelters (which is a blessing), so we have no puppies underfoot to house break and train. We only have our S. So, if you are looking for something new to search out, or show your little guy, this might be an interesting sight.
The website is: www.texasoesrescue.org
Under that you'll see S. (Happy Tales) when we first adopted her for ourselves, as well as a write up on Pumpkin (Rainbow Bridge). Look also under the 2007 picnic. You'll get a kick out of 46 OES together for our annual meeting. It mainly displays stories of "forever homes", as well as tales of animals up for adoption, etc.
I've rambled, so it is time to close. Take care of yourself. Our prayers are with you always. D. T.
Hi! Just finished reading your latest message. I'm glad they try to make the treatment as comfortable as possible--I never get to watch "chick" flicks, living with 3 boys! I tried to watch When Harry Met Sally the other day when the big boy was playing golf, and the little ones were absorbed with Power Rangers, but I ended up cooking dinner half-way through it, and never saw the end. It's OK, though, I've probably seen it 2 dozen times, if not more. :-)
So far, it hasn't felt much like summer vacation. We spent last week getting our house ready to put on the market. The sign is finally in the yard and we are just waiting to show it. It's been tons of fun keeping the house clean and picked up. ;-) We're in the process of having a house built on some acreage in Magnolia--not too far from Goodson, though--I have no intention of changing jobs!
My 3-year old is running around the house, and it's about 9:45, so I better try to settle him down--not sure how to do that--he had a 2 hour nap today and I didn't!
I will be thinking of you as you continue your treatment. C.