StubbornT Port

Driving down the road today, Gideon's shrill voice demanded that I "PULL OVER!" I thought he was about to throwup due to the intensity of his request. I pulled over and got ready to hand him the tupperware in the front seat. Instead, he was gazing upward at the sky and said, "LOOK, MOMMY! The clouds looks like the USA!" I followed his pointing finger and I will say in all honesty, the cumulus formation was almost maplike in accuracy. Florida, the states, and even Michigan was a hand with a wisp for the Upper Peninsula. It was all there to scale (cloudy-scale).

I'm so glad I pulled over and saw that.

I also take that as a sign that this debt crisis will be figured out soon. If masses of water droplets can unite in order to create a fluffy and serene USA in the sky, I'm thinking congress can come together and compromise for the good of us all. See, this is why I prefer living in the clouds, self-admittedly and honestly. Ugh.

And just as my mind started to drift over (gulp) politics, my boys totally snapped me out of it with this conversation:

Brody: Do you smell that?
Gideon: Yeah...It smells like...STEAK! (Bounces and claps with glee)
Brody: Yes. You like steak, huh. Why?
Gideon: It's 'cause A1 is so good. And I like to chew steak with A1 on it. It makes everything in my mouth happy. And my tummy, too.
Brody: Oh.
Gideon: (Sadly) It doesn't smell like steak anymore. It smells like clouds.
Brody: (Very serious) Yes, you're right. It smells like cotton balls, doesn't it, Gideon?
Gideon: Yes. Cotton clouds.
(...Both turn and continue to silently look at the clouds in the sky as we drive.)

God bless these boys.

Update for now: Gideon had trouble at his appointment last week. His port didn't want to shed a drop of blood or let anything in, either. Vincristine can burn as it goes in, so the nurses on staff kept flushing his port with fluids to get it working again. We don't want clots in the port. As we waited, it started to look like Gideon was going to have to get his Vincristine in a vein, and I really was praying that wouldn't happen. Finally, Nurse Michelle was able to get a few drops of blood out of him to check his numbers (which are doing well!) and he was able to get the Vincristine push. HOORAY! As the needle was twisted and turned, Gideon acted like it was no big thing as he was more concerned about his monster creation on the Leapster. Once in awhile he said, "ow," but he never fussed. When asked by Brody how his chemo went, Gideon said, "Fine, but I have a stubbornt port. He didn't want to wake up and work today." Again he amazed me (and I love how he says "stubbornt").

We started steroids again. He is clingy, wild-eyed, full of superhuman energy, and achy all at once. I am using a lot of his massage from OT during this time and it seems to be curbing the outbursts. They aren't as frequent as normal, thankfully. The muscle pain, though... I'm not sure how else to deal with that but to keep laying on the cold packs where it hurts. Poor honey. Please pray for him through this not-so-fun time...

Brody has had some GREAT times this week. He went to Bronco Hockey Camp and adored it. Not only did he get pointers from the Bronco players he so loves, but he got so much better at his speed, control, and cross-overs. His absolute love for this sport hasn't dwindled at all!

Gideon is calling me from bed right now. Guess what he's requesting? Chicken drumsticks! Here we go... If you get hungry around 3 this morning, c'mon over. It'll be an all-night buffett.