Day 86 & 87 in Virginia

Day 86

Today Jesse had an awesome day. She got to visit her class at Norge. They were so excited to see her. And she was beyond excited to see them… in fact she woke up at 6am because of the excitement.

She woke up right when I was hooking the meropenem ball to her for the 30 minute infusion. Thankfully she watched TV so I could catch a few more z’s. Christine woke up a few minutes after her dad left for work and climbed in the bed with us.

At 8am, I finally convenienced myself that I had to get out of the bed and start my responsibilities. And right off I was fussing at Christine and Jesse about things they’d left laying around. I am a little angry with myself for having this grand illusion of coming home and not having to tell them to both clean up after themselves. After getting Chris on the bus, Jesse and I headed back to the house. We had 30 minutes before she was to visit her class.

At 10am, Jesse and I arrived at her class. Mrs Carlsen, Mrs Perry, Mrs Brown, Mrs Badlam (sorry if I am misspelling that), Mrs Green, and the class were so excited that they had planned a party for her. Jesse loved the dancing. Thank you for the food (we do need to get her to gain weight). Thank you for the gifts and cards. She is so excited to try the cookie tonight. I am making her share it with her sister. Thank you for the purple J. And thank you for the Roadrunner hat made by Mrs Brown. (Please excuse the look on my face in this picture… I am not sure what I am thinking… I must have been laughing about Jesse’s head hitting the blow-up planet.)

While we were with her class, several people stopped by. The word that Jesse was visiting for the day spread quickly. Mrs Turner stopped by with her 5th graders to play Jesse a song they’d learned on the ukelele. Then the kids spent time with the kindergarteners showing them the chords.

Chris, Emileigh, Landan, Abby, Aaron, Brianna, and Erin were allowed to come from their classes to see Jesse. Chris was beyond excited and begged Jesse to stop by to see her class. On the way, we stopped into Mrs. Daughtery’s class to say hello. After visiting Mrs Wheeler and Chris’ class, we visited Emileigh’s class in the library. From there I had Chris and Emileigh stay with their classes while I took Jesse back to Bright Beginnings to visit Mrs. Ro and the staff.

Thank you Shanna (sorry if I am misspelling your name) for the crafts and food. Thank you anonymous person for the Frozen doll. Jesse got into the crafts this afternoon 🙂 And is playing with the doll now.

One person asked me what was the long term prognosis for Jesse. At this point, we don’t honestly know. And until someone can definitively say “We have the definite cure,” Jesse will never be out of the woods. She has heard me talk about a boy who fought cancer 4 times. Even she has said that it might come back. We pray every day that it won’t. I keep telling her that we must play the hand we are dealt with the best grace we can.

One person commented that you make the best of everyday because it’s a gift. I joked that yes you try, but some days life gets the best of you. I am sure that Christine will have mixed emotions about us leaving. Part of her will hate it, and part will like it because she can go back to doing more of what she wants. She won’t have me telling her to clean up after herself or that if I tell her to brush her hair one more time, I am shaving it off. I have no illusions that she gets Mike to let her have her way.

I worry a great deal about Christine. I don’t want to be controlling, and I know that her dad and our family and friends keep an eye on her. Plus she needs to find her own way in this world, but the attention that Jesse gets due to circumstances has to be hard. She is more sensitive than Jesse. Basically Christine is a mini-Mike, and Jesse is my mini me.

We left around 12pm. Jesse rested the rest of the afternoon.

In the evening, we had dinner with friends and enjoyed being home. Jesse did have to have some ativan because smells were getting to her.

Day 87

Today we took Chris, Emileigh, and Landan to the bus stop. Then I worked, and Jesse sat in my lap watching TV. In the afternoon, her Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri stopped by. And tonight some friends are bringing pizza for Jesse.