9am lumbar puncture, that was the plan. It didn't happen, they ended up taking me down around 1pm for the LP. This created a situation where Elliot and Jessica, who had planned to visit, almost didn't visit. Luckily they did. I was able to enjoy their company for over an hour. They also brought me my favorite sandwich from RedRock. That sandwich will stand as two thirds of my diet for the day. It was disappointing to have lunch interrupted by the LP. I love having time to talk with Elliot and Jessica. I bought a few extra minutes by having transport wait in the hall.
After lunch there was the LP. What is there to say about the LP. It's not a big deal. They shoot your back up with lidocaine and then they fish a needle into your spine and pull out some fluid. In this case they not only took some fluid but they also administered chemo. The issue with the LP is laying around for the next 24 hours. If you need to have a bowel movement, cough, sneeze, hiccup... Well, don't. If you do you'll end up pushing fluid out of your spine. This leaves your brain resting directly on your skull, rather than on spinal fluid. This gives you the worst headache you've ever had and it lasts for a 8 days. Sadly I know all of this from first hand experience. The last time around I had a coughing fit after an LP, I couldn't really sit up for the next week without experiencing constant pain in the 5 range on the pain scale. Anyhow, that's an LP. I didn't do anything silly this time. Hopefully that means I won't have anything terrible happen to me.
I laid on my back until 4:30, when Emily, Jonas, and Max came for Max's birthday party. It was everything I could've hoped for. We played games, sang, opened presents, ate, and had a wonderful time. Max is so full of life and happiness. He loves to share and laugh. He's six. He seems so grown up now. I don't know, I think he's perfect. He is full of love, curiosity, and a surprising sense of appreciation for beauty. Happy Birthday Max, I love you!
Emily and Jonas are getting all sorts of left out here. No, of course they aren't. I was able to be in bed with Emily for most of the evening. She looked beautiful. She's eating and sleeping well. Jonas is doing well and he's happy at school. This is not how it went the last time I was in the hospital. It's encouraging to see how my family is handling this situation.
I ate about 500 calories of nasty for dinner. I was afraid, for most of the meal, that I wouldn't be able to keep the food down. This rounds my day out at 1500 calories. That's 3 days of nutrition missing completely over the course of 6 days here. This isn't going well, I'll keep working at it. My stomach is very bloated and it is painful to eat. It should be clear that when I'm not eating it is because I can't, not because I don't want to.
It was a good day. As always, my family and friends are keeping my spirits high. Thank you.
Here is a picture of my handsome birthday boy in his new birthday glasses:
Oh, he is so cute in those glasses! I love little kids in glasses. I am absolutely loving all the pictures with your posts, especially the ones of you and Emily. You really "fit" together. You look like you belong together, like you are a team, almost similar looking despite looking nothing alike in reality.
ReplyDeleteThat is one handsome kid!!
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