It's Been So Nice...Busy...But Nice

We've had 17 wonderful days at home and we hate to see it come to an end. But, I suppose there is no point prolonging the inevitable. So here we go. But before we do, we just wanted to share with you some of the fun we had during our break. We managed to pack quite a bit in our precious two weeks. Our schedule included five trips to various doctor's offices, outings to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum annex in Dulles, Frying Pan Park where the boys got to see lots of farm animals, a movie about flight in an IMAX theater (which, you guessed it, was a hit with Adam), as well as a picnic at Olde Isaac Walton Park where we hoped to see some geese, but found a big lake covered with mossy stuff instead. We also had a special visit from Grandma and Grandpa, and to top it all off, a rousing birthday party for me that really turned into a party for the boys. It was exactly what we needed.

The boys at Olde Isaac Walton Park...where there were no geese....

Adam must inspect each dead leaf...

Dad and Russell at the park.

It's a great place to be-Grandpa's lap.

Grandma Lynne always has a good story.

Just gettin' ready. The suspense is too much. Can't wait to sing the entire "Happy Birthday" song....gotta blow out the candles!!!!!!

It's Been A Good Day

It's been five days at home now. I think we could get used to this, though, we're going to try really hard not to given that we have to check into Children's National two weeks from yesterday. It is so nice to be home, but I have to admit, a little disorienting at first. Adam wandered around with uncertainty for the first couple of days. He's adjusted to being home quite nicely, but he sure did miss his friends. He kept telling me,"Let's go back to hospital, Mom." And, "Let's go talk to nurses, Mom." Russell is not so sure about this arrangement. He had really gotten used to the quiet and being able to play his games in peace and I think he's feeling a little irritated. Poor kid. Adam can be a really loud handful.

We went back today for an out-patient procedure (which went very well) and after it was over, made our way upstairs to say "hello" to everyone. Adam was still a little dazed by the sedation medicine, but he immediately recognized the nurses on staff. It was so nice to see everyone again. For obvious reasons, we hope we never have to go back as a patient, but we sure appreciate the friendships we've forged. Absolutely priceless.

There's No Place Like Home

We were surprised yesterday with the news that we get to go home today!!!!! Of course we couldn't argue. I woke up this morning to find a sweet note stuck to the back of our door. After I smiled at the sweetness of the note complete with helicopter, I started to cry. We are really going to miss our nurses and our staff that have made this stay so much better then we ever thought possible. We were geared up for staying here until it was time to transfer downtown, so having to leave today is more bitter sweet than I imagined it would be. We are so grateful to you, our nurses and staff at Inova. We can't thank you enough for your care and association!!!

Adam has been doing so well that it was decided that he could go home while his counts recovered to needed levels. We are scheduled for an out-patient bone marrow aspiration on Tuesday, and at that point, we will know more about his remission status and what will happen next. Our hope is that he will be in a clean remission and that we can check in to Children's Hospital as planned on the 31st. I have been cleared to be Adam's donor and am very excited and thankful for the unbelievable opportunity to be of service to my sweet boy.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone again for you thoughts and prayers. We have literally witnessed miracles and we credit it to the faith and prayers of each of you who have continued to pray for us. We simply can't put all the gratitude we feel into words.

It's Comin' Back, Baby!!

Just a quick post to say that Adam's ANC is on the rise. Twenty-seven yesterday, 43 today!!! It's slow, but it's progress! And we also found out that Mark came down with strep throat. Good news since that's treatable with antibiotics.

Other than that, we are sitting here trying to keep up with this little kid. He reminds me of Dash, the little boy who can run extremely fast on "The Incredibles". I am thankful he's feeling so well.

Playing With The Nurses & Bedtime Snack

It's been a crazy last couple of days. I haven't posted for a while because nothing noteworthy has been happening. We have just been hanging out and waiting for counts to recover. But within the last three days, Adam's hair has started to fall out, he had to have a lesion removed from his hand yesterday, he's had one red blood cell transfusion and two platelet transfusions, and as a nice big juicy cherry on top, Mark has contracted something evil that has made him more sick than he's been in years. Amidst all of this, we are all still ticking--some of us more than others...

I suppose on a whole, the last few days have been tolerable. Hopefully by next post, we will have some good news about count recovery. As for now, we are still at zero waiting with bated breath for any sign that they are on the comeback. Until then, I have included some pictures of some recent activities.

Adam loves to go on walks to say "hi" to the nurses at the nurse's station. Before bedtime, we usually go out to say good night to everyone. He loves to help the nurses and to play with all the fun office equipment at the desk. In the picture below, he's helping Jenn put his name labels in his chart.

After he was done helping Jenn, he had to go help Sarah and make sure everything was okay.

After everything checked out, it was back to the room for bedtime snack. Olives are a great choice! Especially since you can play with them before you eat them.