We got home from the 5th round of chemo Friday afternoon, and Ezra did very well once again! It was Gasparilla week, which for all you non-Tampanians is a festival/parade Tampa does… which basically features pirates and beads. The hospital had all the kids who were there put together a big parade with floats made out of hospital beds and wagons… and Ezra led the parade! I’ll upload a couple of photos here on CarePages. Pirates were all over the hospital this week.
My mom was great as well this week – staying the night Thursday night so we could go home and sleep while Ezra did. It’s impossible to get any rest in the hospital, as nurses are coming in every few hours, Ezra’s diaper needs to be changed every other hour (the chemo drugs are in his urine during the treatment, and shouldn’t sit on his skin for long), and there’s two of us sleeping on a plastic couch smaller than a twin mattress. So thanks, mom, for the rest.
We spoke with the drs a good bit this week, and it looks like since Ezra was stage 4 when he was diagnosed, we WILL be doing the stem cell transplant after the surgery. Surgery to remove the tumor is most likely going to happen within the next 2-3 weeks – soon. It’s a long surgery, 8-12 hours, and complicated. Please pray this will go well – I’ll have more info to share once we get it actually scheduled, and again when we come to it.
Robyn’s mom flies in tomorrow from Seattle (she’s been here a week or so out of every month since Ezra was diagnosed), which will be good – she’s also a big help when she’s here. Thank God for moms.
Robyn has become a regular social worker/encourager at the hospital – every time we go she disappears for a couple hours at a time, and when Ezra and I go to look for her, she’s always chatting with some mom who is just finding out about THEIR kids’ cancer. They have that same look we did the first couple weeks – shock, haven’t slept in days, overwhelmed. And Robyn talks to them, sharing her feelings she felt, how much we’ve learned so quick, and answering questions/offering her number. Good woman.
Thanks for all your prayers…