Conversations. . .

This morning Brendan slept and slept.  It was good to see him sleeping well.

 When he did wake up, he was excited it was Friday.  We planned to do some Christmas shopping today while waiting for radiation.  Brendan was excited, but only made it to the chair after getting out of bed.

 This morning was the first time I saw Brendan excited for his daily bath!

 But still not excited about brushing his teeth.  That thick saliva and pasty mouth make it no fun.

 But at last we made it to the store.

Brendan shopped for his siblings. . .

 and found something for himself!

 It was soon time to head to the Huntsman Cancer Institute for radiation therapy.  The worst part is finding a parking spot in the crowded parking garage.  And watch where you are walking!  Everyone is looking for a parking spot and not looking for people walking past.

As I set my purse down today, I had to laugh at the odd assortment of things I carry nowadays.  (Face mask, kleenex and wipes, feeding tube syringes with bottles of Ensure and extra water to flush the line, ointment and hot packs, and I always carry throw up bags!  We never want to be without those when we need them.)

 When we first got to radiation, Brendan wasn't feeling well.  But he was feeling better when he could lie down and let the nausea pass.  (Here Brendan is waiting for Lark to bring the small, squishy pad that goes under his bottom to cushion the hard table somewhat.  Usually they use those pads to keep skin from getting too much radiation -- but they put it under Brendan for padding.)

 Lining him up using the tattoo on his chest.

 Setting the machine. . . and he is ready to go.

 Once radiation was done we headed home!  Here's Brendan's view from the back seat.

 Today Brendan and I spent a lot of time in the car.  When I asked Brendan what he wanted to do, he said, "I just want to talk."  So we did.  We talked about Christmas, and we talked about the radiation schedule (they may have only 28 boxes on his calendar, and not 33), and then we talked about the important stuff.

I asked Brendan if he thought he knew before he came to earth that he would have to deal with having cancer.
He thought that maybe he would have known.  (And I'm sure he was like, "I got this!  I can do that.")  We wondered if there were things like cancer that we would volunteer to do?
Brendan was sure no one would ever volunteer to have cancer.
"No?" I challenged.
"No one would ever volunteer for something like this," he said.
"What if it helped other people?" I countered.
"How could it help other people?" he wondered.
"Well, Christ volunteered to suffer the ultimate pain, and pay the ultimate price, and give his life so the rest of us could be resurrected and return to live with our Heavenly Father."
"Hmmm. . ." he said, "I never thought about that before."

Then we talked about more important stuff.  Brendan told me all about Nerf guns -- with all the cool features and things I had never thought about before.

 The drive home was beautiful!

 Home at last!

 Being home was like a party!  Brendan told me today that it was hard being all alone all week.  He gets bored.  He said he's grown up used to being around lots of other family members, so being in the hospital without lots of other kids around is hard.

 When Brendan is home, it's like a slumber party.  The first night he spent home, he slept on the living room floor.  Ever since then that is where he wants to sleep.  And all the other kids take turns sleeping there too.  Yep, it's a party when Brendan comes home for the weekend!