Day Thirty-four

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:16

Okay, I now know the responsibilities of the hair fairy.  We read "H is for Hair Fairy" tonight and Ryan told me when he gets his 'bolted' head, the hair fairy will bring him a nerf gun.  Ryan liked the book because it had pictures of all the things that are now becoming normal in his life (e.g. port, chemo, IVs, hair loss, medicine, etc.)

We also read, "I'm Still Me!," which is an activity book for kids with cancer.  He drew what he thought his cancer looked like, what his hair was going to look like when it grows back, and some other activities.

Ryan saw a picture of an IV pole and said that he missed "Batman."  That is what he named his IV pole while he was at the hospital.  It was important that he took "Batman" with him wherever he went (because he was attached to it).  So, the nurses encouraged the kids to name their IV pole and remember to take them everywhere.  "Batman" also had a place for Ryan to stand so Mirjan and I could push him around.  Ryan figured that out real fast, and "Batman" quickly became his own disneyworld ride in the hospital.   I told him that he could ride on "Batman" again this week when we go to the hospital.

Davianna read several little books to me tonight, and she was really happy about that.  Mirjan then read her a book about kids who have a sibling with cancer.  The hospital and doctor's office have provided a lot of good material to share with the kids.   

Mirjan took the kids and their friends to the playground this afternoon, and they had a blast.  Andreas told Ryan that he is going to look cool without any hair, and that made Ryan happy.  I think we're making progress!  Ryan and I talked about putting a face on the back of his head to confuse people walking behind him.  We even saw some pictures on the web that he thought was cool (Okay, okay....Mirjan already told me that we would NOT be drawing a face on the back of his head.  I started out showing him pictures of people with bald heads and how cool a lot of them were.  We looked at basketball players, football players, singers, regular people, etc.  Somewhere, we took a humorous turn, and we were laughing. )  Here are some of the pictures that we saw:

I guess all that matters is that we were laughing, and it made him feel better about his upcoming 'bolted' head.

Well, Friday is one day closer.  Mirjan and I talked about limiting his exposure afterward based on the doctor's advice.  We'll talk to him about it again on Friday, but that means fewer (or no) trips out to the store, to other people's houses, etc.  We will also have a "no sick" zone in the house.  My preference would be to check everyone who comes over with the infrared thermometer.  If they don't have a fever and no visible signs of being sick, they will be allowed to enter.  We'll see how that goes over with Mirjan. :)   This will be another discussion point for us.  I talked to some parents at the hospital during Ryan's second surgery, and they said that had to make several trips to the emergency room because their child had a fever.  If Ryan gets a fever, we are off to the emergency room and it could be a several day stay.  I would rather seem inhospitable than Ryan being in the hospital.   Please, Lord, keep Ryan healthy. 

Father, I ask that you strengthen Ryan's body for the treatment this week. Let your healing power be mighty and effective.  Keep Ryan in your hands, let his immune system strong, and give him courage as he now knows what to expect with the treatment and doesn't like it.  In Jesus' name I ask.  Amen.