One Down...

Thursday went.  And thanks to all of you who equipped us with magazines, mints, books, new music, crosswords, the fabulous Chemosabe shirt from Miss Gail (and the "other" shirt from Emmy!), homemade banana bread, and all of the other things that I am sure I am forgetting. Can you get "chemo brain" by proximity?  Dr. McCoy joked that Tutu and I looked like Chris's sherpas as we headed into the Infusion Center, but we wanted to be prepared...or at least not be bored.   

We found a quiet corner and Chris got "hooked up" soon after.  It was a rough start (when Chris turns pale it is always cause for concern) but once things got flowing, he was fine.  I can't tell you exactly how he felt--he was into his book and into his head and dealing with it all as best he could.  

So, I'll bore you with what I was thinking.  When we walked into the room (picture a huge place with lazy boys and attempts at "homey touches" but every other person is having bags of poison pumped into them), I just kept looking down so that I wouldn't throw up on anyone.  (For those that don't know, I am a huge wimp when it comes to anything that is hospital-like...sometimes I can just drive too close to Kennestone and want to hurl).  But at some point during the day, maybe it was that one of the nurses sang a gospel song upon request, maybe it was hearing the grandmother take a break from her treatment to tell her grandchild away at college to "eat right and hit the books" or maybe it was the lovely couple from South Africa who kindly offered words of wisdom and encouragement...my image of all of it changed.  I was able to get over myself and look up and actually see them.  And they were no longer sick people with tubes running into them--they were husbands, wives, mothers, friends, grandparents, one teenager--and they were all fighters.  

We clapped, cheered and teared up as several of the warriors celebrated their last treatment and as weary as they were---they each had a certain bounce to their step on the way out the door.  It was really amazing...not in an "I-want-to-hang-out-there-on-a-regular-basis-way," but very powerful just the same. 

So, back home...Chris had a pretty good night.  His Mom took him back to the doctor this morning for his $5000 booster shot (to keep the white blood cell count up) and his Dad came over to hang out with him this afternoon.  We went for a short family walk after school, had a good dinner, he read to the kids and is now shouting at the UT basketball team as if they can hear him through the TV.  So, things seem somewhat normal--he just feels like he was run over by a bus and the kids are disappointed that his hair hasn't fallen out yet.  

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers (and to the Marietta Mafia for providing childcare!)  

Much love, 

Katherine and Chris (who is nodding as I clear this with him--"yeah, yeah...sounds good...REBOUND!!" So, thanks to March Madness I can post whatever I want!)