TGIF

Today’s schedule was another busy one that had us running all over Memphis! Thank goodness Grandma and Bruce were in town to help! They started by dropping Tyler off at school!

We started with our usual Friday morning lab work and then had our regular weekly visit with the Neurology/Oncology clinic. Caleb makes himself right at home with his favorite games.

I was excited for Mom and Bruce to meet Caleb’s team of doctors. Caleb’s specialist answered more of our questions and prepped us on the side effects we might start seeing this week. But so far Caleb is so strong and doing so awesome so I’m thankful for that!

One of the important questions for Caleb’s doctor today was why he has to get both Chemo and Radiation, and why such an aggressive treatment is needed. I know the answer to this, and I’ve heard the answer before, but I always need to hear it again to remind myself that we are doing what is necessary to treat Caleb. So, today he explained it very simply, this is like a battle and one strike is not enough. You have to hit your target from all angles to make sure the enemy is defeated. In other words, radiation alone is not enough, and chemo alone is not enough, but used together we may win the war.

We had a large gap in our schedule after Caleb’s clinic appointment, and before radiation, so thank goodness for Grandma being there to entertain Caleb. I’m sure he gets bored with me after a while ha ha! They played together and also made the best picture together!

Caleb completed day 3 of radiation like a champ! He even had to get his port access adjusted AND he had to get a flu shot today. He went through a lot today and he is always so brave!!

Meanwhile, while all of this was going on at St. Jude I had to get to Tyler’s school to pick him up. They are on “Fall Break” this week so they have camp the next few days. Today they did some arts and crafts and he made the cutest scarecrow!!

It’s amazing that just a few hours after Caleb had his treatment he was begging me to go to the playground with Tyler! Once the anesthesia wore off enough I finally gave in and let him go. Target house had a band come perform tonight on the patio, and it was a beautiful evening outside watching the kids all run around the playground and listening to the music. It just amazed me tonight to watch him climb the ladders on the playground and run all around. He is so strong!!!

James went back home for the weekend to take care of a few things in Florida. It’s very strange being here without him and it was even stranger for him to return home after almost 3 weeks. So much happened at home in such a short time and we left in such a hurry that it was emotional for him to go back. It’s like pieces of our lives are still scattered all over the house we were renting. We now have to decide what to pack for the new house some day, what to bring back to Tennessee, and what to sell. I’m glad James is making those decisions while I continue to set up our apartment to feel more like home. Caleb can eat breakfast tomorrow so I already have it ready for him when he wakes up!