Better and Worse

BETTER: Jacob

WORSE: Me

Jacob is finished with radiation. Let the wild rumpus start!

Apparently, my body has been waiting for that moment to collapse. Within two hours of his last radiation, I started running a fever and got a severe sore throat. (Not nearly as severe as Jake's, of course, but noticeable.) And it's not going away quickly, either. Apart from trying not breathe on Jake when I give him pain meds or start his fluids, I've had to have help in getting him a few places.

Friday morning early he had to be at Primary Children's to see the eye doctor. My parents took him up and happily reported that Jake's vision is still 20/20 in each eye--no apparent damage done to his left eye after 28 rounds of radiation. A minor blessing, perhaps, but one we're very grateful for.

Tomorrow he has chemo at 11:30 in clinic. I'm going to have to deputize that visit as well. I'm afraid I might have strep throat (or, even worse, a return of mono after my initial illness 18 months ago). The last place in the world someone with an infectious illness should be is the Hem/Onc clinic, full of immune suppressed children. So instead of going to Jake's appointment, I'll be making one of my own. Imagine that--other people might need doctors through this time.

I also want to say thank you to all of you who follow this blog and are praying for Jacob. It really is the best help we have. I know I don't have the strength to do this alone--fortunately, I don't have to. Thanks to our family, to our friends, to friends of friends who find us in roundabout ways, and to all the kind people who take a moment to think of Jacob and wish him well. I'm normally obsessive about making personal thank you's, but that's one of those traits that has been shoved aside this last month. I hope to return to it as we settle back into a weekly, rather than a daily, schedule of treatments--but I want you all to know how much your kindness and love is helping.

God bless you everyone.

Oh, and Jacob is doing better with each day. He's been able to eat at least a little since Friday and today he's begging me to let him make crepes. He's still taking pain meds, but not as frequently and not as high a dose. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's beautiful.