We are Home

We were able to get out of the hospital Saturday about 1 pm and head for home. Rebekah went right into the kitchen and grabbed the container of Apple Jacks off the counter and wanted into Sarah's chair to eat. She didn't eat much, but she ate some Apple Jacks, some cheese and some veggie crackers.

It sure feels good to be home!

I don't know if we mentioned it or not, but Rebekah seems to be constipated. She hasn't had a bowel movement since we got to the hospital. She hasn't been eating a lot and her belly is still soft and making noises (which are good things). Aside from eating high fiber foods there is not much that we can do for her except to give her some colace liquid stool softener. It doesn't taste very good and can burn her throat some. Friday we tried mixing some with some cocoa powder (doc says chocolate does a good job of masking the flavor) and puting it in a syringe to give to her. She took one taste and didn't want any more. Mom tried to get her to take a little more and most of it came back up - decorating Mom's shirt and pants. Saturday morning, we got some chocolate syrup (from one of the coffee vendors) and tried that but she wouldn't go near it. At home, Mom tried mixing it with some Raspberry syrup but Mom got decorated some more. Please pray for a bowel movement. They can't give her an enema or suppositories, because of the risk for infection. And we can't give her anything through her central line to help, because it wouldn't get into her stomach and intestines that way.

Last night, when we went to give her each of the medications that she needs she fought it very hard. She has been so good about it, until last night. I don't know if she thought she was going to get more of the colace or if her throat was just hurting that much more or what. We just about had to hold her down and force the meds down her. It just breaks my heart. Not only that, but we had to give her a shot, too. Uugh! Many times this week the nurses were amazed at how well she was taking her meds. She would grab the syringes and try to push it in her mouth herself. Not last night!

Friend Dinah came to the hospital to help us get packed up. She was able to help keep Sarah entertained while we got things out to the car, van or trailer. That was great help!

Friend Carol came to the house to help us for several hours. She was able to entertain the girls, pick up a pizza (and some milk) for us, help get some of the things in from the trailer, do some laundry, some cleaning and generally help us relax a little. That was tremendous. She also was able to help with medications.

Friend Tara came and cleaned out the cat boxes and got them food and water and took our pop cans (so she can return them for us). That was very helpful! She has been watching out for the cats while we were away.

Speaking of medications, there are a bunch. This morning Mom had to find a different bag for them - because the bag she was using was too small (after the addition of new medications this week). She moved them to a small diaper bag and they fill the bag. Here is a quick run down: Periactin (antihistimine and appetite stimulant) which she gets twice a day, Septra (antibiotic) which she gets twice a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Zofran (anti-nausea and anti-vomiting) which she takes as needed, Magic Mouthwash (for mouth sores with lidocaine which numbs) which she takes as needed, Peridex (mouthwash for cleansing) four times daily, Tylenol (as neede for pain, but we can't keep her on it because we need to know if she has a fever), Tylenol with Codeine (if we want something a little stronger, but we still have to worry about fever), Morphine (as needed for pain, but she can become tolerant to it and addicted to it), Sodium Flouride Drops (to protect her adult teeth, since we do not have flouride in our drinking water), Flouridex toothpaste (to protect her baby teeth from the radiation) twice daily (she gets it at least once daily) with no food or drink after for 30 minutes, Biafine (ointment for the "sun burn" on her face) up to 3 times daily and then there is her GCSF (Neupogen) shot to increase her blood counts which she takes for 10 days after chemo is done. I think that is it. It is a lot to keep track of.

The girls seem to be enjoying their own beds. They are still asleep and we're going to let them sleep right now. There is no reason that they need to be woken up this morning. This is one of the few days that we can sleep in.

Please pray for a bowel movement, that she would eat more, that she will take her medications well today and that we would all have patience and can get some rest. One of the nurses this week was telling me that we have to remember what is important to the kiddos. What they care about is to know that Mommy and Daddy love them and that they can sit in Mommy's (or Daddy's) lap and snuggle and feel good. Each day is a blessing. God is good.