The Rest of the Day. . .

The first half of the day was busy, but so was the second half of today.  In between therapy sessions, the speech and education therapist came to test some cognitive skills.  It was pretty easy stuff so far.  Brendan will have to finish tomorrow since his testing was interrupted by physical therapy.  (Brendan was excited to find out she knew where Avon is!  She's Michelle Watkins friend and Aldon's niece.)

 Stair practice.

 Balance work -- kicking the ball with one foot, then the other.

 More balance work!

 Brendan totally rocked this!

 But that was a lot of work.  The afternoon was reserved for a nap!

 Nathan and Lexi (Brendan's cousins) came to show us pictures of their ultrasound and to play with Brendan.  I'm not sure word is out about what their having, but (think pink!)

 Today Brendan was inducted into the Alligator Wrestling Club.  This is a VERY exclusive club where you have to have a really cool scar (that looks like an alligator bit your head) or some other amazingly difficult experience!  Brendan was honored!

 Another fun card from Uncle Bryan and Aunt Anna!

 Lexi and I snuck away while the boys were playing a game to warm up some soup in the Ronald McDonald Family Room kitchen.  When meals aren't being served, we can use the kitchen to make our own food.

 Uncle Sharik and Aunt Shanda popped in for a minute to say "hi" to Brendan and give him a good foot massage.  Being a physical therapist, Sharik definitely knows how to give a good foot rub, but I think Brendan preferred Shanda's soft touch.

 We finally finished decorating the room for Halloween since it looks like we may be here awhile longer.  Shanda says the room looks a lot smaller than in the pictures on the blog.  We are definitely tripping over ourselves in this tiny room!

We should get word sometime tomorrow morning on the decision by the tumor board about how to treat the lymph nodes in Brendan's neck. That decision will determine a lot of what happens in the next week.

We should also find out about the spinal fluid cultures and if Infectious Disease (ID) can determine what may have caused the fever and photophobia (light sensitivity) and stiff neck.  That will chart the antibiotics course for the next while.

Every day we are learning --(Brendan says I need to go to nursing school so I don't spill down his neck. Is that what you learn in nursing school?) --and I'm learning lots of new words (like morbidity, photophobia, and how to say names of antibiotics like vancomycin and chemo drugs like cisplatin).  I'm also spending time each day with the pharmacist --who teaches me the ins and outs of the different medications, what they treat, and their possible side effects-- the education specialist -- who teaches me what I need to know about coordinating with the schools and helping with his schoolwork -- with the therapists -- who teach me what I can be doing every day to help Brendan get back to normal activity -- and with the social worker-- who teaches me how to prepare for the months ahead and how to help my kids know what is going on.

  Three weeks ago, this world would have seemed like a different planet.  (Actually, this place feels like a different planet.) But we are slowly adjusting to our new surroundings.  Each day is looking a little brighter and a little more normal.  Today I unpacked. . .