A Day Like Any Other

Lisa finished up the last of her chemo for the year yesterday. As you can see in the photo she makes good use of her infusion time. The new Mott is nice. We're still working out the kinks, it's only been open for a week so far, and finding our way around but I enjoy being able to look out the window during Lisa's treatments.

Yesterday as I looked out at the people and traffic I pondered what the other kids at her school are doing about that time of day [3:15 PM]. They're probably arriving home or getting off the bus about then and having a snack or playing. I remember those days with each of the older kids. The "normal" grind of the day was so much different then.

Yesterday Lisa woke up with the other kids. She got ready for school, minus the lunch, ate breakfast and went off to the bus with mom. As lunch time came around I stopped in and picked her up for her afternoon appointments. The chicken selects and fries from McDonald's, her current favorite, are already in the car when she gets there. The smell of them is intoxicating. We hook her up to her IV pump in the car to get a head start on the infusion and she digs into the meal. Half way to UofM she's full and hands the bag to me to cleanup the crumbs as she dozes off.

We arrive at the hospital, wiggle through the parking structure, park and walk across to the new Mott. We grab a wheelchair and pile on the IV pump(s), the laptop, the Mott bag with extra clothes and a toy or two, and head for the elevators. We exit the 7th floor and make our way to the pediatric infusion area. After the blood pressure and temperature check we get seated in our chair. We're still learning the new TV and game features but Lisa's tired so she turns on something as mind-numbing as Phineas and Ferb and is lulled into sleep.

After I pry myself away from the TV I fire up the computer check email and try to get some work done. I can hear some of the other kids in the area. Today one of the little patients is struggling through a coughing fit and so Respiratory Therapy is called up to assist. He's quieted and made comfortable with the help of Albuterol. A little ways away I hear a baby making "lal lal lal" sounds as he discovers he can make new sounds by moving his tongue around. A delightful sound that makes everyone including myself smile and laugh.

Where am I going with this dialogue? No place in particular I was merely struck by how different individual routines are based on circumstances. It was a good day. Lisa was comfortable, the view was decent, and we're not scheduled back at Mott until January.

What can I do to make the most of this Christmas, I wonder. I don't have any grand plans this year so it'll have to be something spontaneous. I can't wait to see what it is.
Cheers all. Thanks for tuning in.
Mike