WE DID IT!

We made it through the inpatient stay of Cycle 3! Caleb got discharged later Thursday evening and I have to say I feel like this stay was the best yet. I think it was just a combination of being more prepared and having really awesome nurses this time around. Caleb did get sick once or twice again, but we were able to give him the right meds quickly and he bounced back each time. He has kept up his appetite which is also really good. So, all in all I am very happy with how things went. I think this must be getting easier for Caleb too as he knows what to expect from the whole experience as well.

One of Caleb’s favorite parts of his stay is when the “happy cart” comes around. This is the cart with toys and when it comes around he gets to pick something from it. Well, they were just about to leave St. Jude, and Caleb had to get his immune booster shot (that he gets every time before he leaves), and he was NOT a happy camper. But then the Happy Cart came in the room right when they were leaving and it changed his whole night. They let him pick out a couple toys and he was SO excited! You can see him in the picture leaving St. Jude in the elevator with one toy in his hand and another stuffed in his pocket. It’s the little things that make Caleb so happy and that’s what I love about him!

While James wrapped up the last part of the inpatient stay, I hopped on a plane to Florida. Tyler has been in Florida all week for his spring break and let me tell you, he has had an amazing trip! He got to go to the Strawberry Festival (again!), and go to his first dinner party (yep, that’s right, he’s fancy! HA HA). He joined Grandma at work one day and also got to go to Busch Gardens. And it wasn’t just any trip to Busch Gardens, he got to go on a safari to feed the giraffes! He absolutely loved it! This was something that was actually planned for him to do for his birthday last year (because you have to be 5 years old to do the giraffe safari), but unfortunately we left for Memphis the week before he was scheduled to do it. So, he finally got to have the experience and it was definitely worth the wait. He can’t stop talking about it! Then he got to go spend the night and play at Grandpa and Grebbie’s. He also went with Grandpa to the air field to help him fly some model planes. He is just learning the basics, but I think some day he’s going to be really into it! He had a dinner date with a friend at his favorite, “The Chicken Store”. And now to wrap up his spring break we are home together in our new house, enjoying our neighborhood and our pool!

As with many situations lately, this week has definitely brought mixed emotions. On the one hand I’m so happy and grateful that Tyler got to be in Florida for his spring break. But on the other hand I’m sad/angry that we aren’t all having an awesome spring break together. Caleb definitely deserves it, and I know we will make it up to him next year. But still, it stinks that he’s stuck in a hospital room, and now pretty much confined to our apartment because his counts are dropping and his immune system is too low to go anywhere with crowds of people. As I sat in the pool with Tyler today I just missed him so much because I know he would be giggling with Tyler and enjoying every second of being in the pool if he was here too. But I also looked around and tried to imagine life when we move home and it’s only about 3 months away!!! It’s starting to feel like we are counting down to coming home instead of counting the days since we’ve been in Memphis. I feel like we’ve reached the other side. I’m just praying his scans stay clean and everything stays on track for us to be able to get home this summer!!!

Well, that’s it for tonight. Tyler and I have another day and a half to enjoy Florida and then we are headed back. I miss Caleb, but I’ll miss being home in Florida, so… it’s hard either way I guess. I’m just praying that Caleb keeps feeling good because his birthday is right around the corner!!! And reaching this milestone is a big deal! Birthdays are a big thing in our house anyways, but this year especially for Caleb is a BIG DEAL! I can’t wait for him to find out all the surprises we have in store for him as we celebrate in an unconventional way this year. So, I’ll try not to be sad, but look forward to that!!!