I took Stevie to have his abdomen drained at the hospital this morning. They drained 4.8 litres (for my Canadian relatives) liters (for my American friends) according to the Interventional Radiology tech. This was a little more than last time...4.2 L about a week and a half ago. It is a painful process for Steve, and I hate that! I'm hoping that we can get that remedied by giving him more pain meds beforehand if he needs this procedure again.
I dropped him off for prep and ran upstairs in another hospital building for a Baby Laswell check. The baby is doing just fine...measuring well, heartbeat good and fending for himself. Good boy!
I absolutely adore Steve's Nurse Navigator, Beth. She is just phenomenal. She had actually been in contact with me twice yesterday for updates and checked on Steve today and then made sure that she found me after my OB appointment to answer any of my questions. Steve had cancelled an appointment at the Cancer Center today...an appointment that he usually likes and has felt is in his best interest in the past. When I talked to him about it, he said that he cancelled it because he wanted to give everyone a break. That broke my heart. I don't need a break and never want him to feel that way.
Beth told Steve that she would assist in finding resources if I ever needed a break and that he shouldn't worry about that. She told him that by taking care of himself and doing what he wanted to do, that it would make him happier and also make me happier. And that is so true! It was a nice moment.
And then, because I had already planned to take him to that appointment today, we ran across the street to the Cancer Center. It was nice for him to get some IV pain meds after that tough procedure, and he slept for a long time. I'm glad he got some rest.
When we got home, I continued working on some projects for my job, and he got some more sleep. I was thrilled when he said that he wanted to come along to pick up Poppy. He hasn't gone into the daycare for at least a month...maybe longer. I showed him the pictures of our family that are on her crib. Fortunately Poppy was in a great mood, which is not always the case. She had just had a bottle and a nap, so she shot him a winning smile when we came in. Then she performed well...I told Steve that she loves crawling through the tunnel...and SHE DID IT right then! :) I loved it that he took an interest and obviously felt decent enough to go in with me.
Tonight he has been extremely tired, but tried to watch some shows...Hoarders :). What a long day for him! The plan going forward is for a CT Scan on Tuesday and then chemotherapy next Thursday if the numbers support it. Right now, there is a concern about his white blood cells. We have to be very careful about hand-washing and not having any illness around him at all.
So, I mentioned last night that there were a couple of special things that occurred yesterday. I need to go to sleep soon, but want to share one of them...we will go chronologically. I will tell you about the other one tomorrow.
I have been working at a hospital outside of Indianapolis for over seven years now. About three times a year, I research and hire a leadership development speaker, book a venue, work on logistics and more. I enjoy my time with the leadership group immensely and love to locate speakers who will make a real difference in their professional lives going forward.
When we stopped for lunch, my Director arose and said that there was a special event going on this time...a baby shower! A baby shower for Baby Boy Laswell. I was very surprised, and it just blew me away. The time, energy and thoughtfulness put into this event was amazing.
A table of gifts was rolled out, the food was reflective of a baby shower. And for dessert there was a table of cupcakes frosted with blue icing. Not to mention the amazing cake made out of diapers that Sandi (a co-worker and friend) had created for us. It had a Colts stuffed bear on it...Colts pacifiers...Colts jersey...socks and so much more. I learned that the entire shower had been her idea...Isn't that awesome? I haven't been truly surprised very often in my life...except maybe when we were told about Baby Boy Laswell's existence :). This was a lovely surprise, and I will remember the experience for a lifetime.
A huge thanks to all of the leadership group from the Laswells!
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| Thank you so much, Sandi! |
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| The dessert table at Baby Boy Laswell shower. 12 11 14 |
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