Feeling Good

After Ori received the 14 shots of neupogen, his ANC skyrocketed and he felt great.  So for the past few weeks we have been getting out of the house, enjoying some time feeling normal.  We've seen friends, been to the park, the zoo, the library, and we even had family visit from out of town.

The boys have been loving it, although I must admit that the first time we ventured out of the house to go to the train park, I was a bit nervous.  As we pulled into the parking lot and then actually began walking to the playground at the park, I was almost in a panic.

As I watched the boys play, I realized that even though there have been a few times (maybe 4?) that we've been to the park during the last year, we have only been to our local park where there were maybe 5 or 6 other kids playing, too. Now we were in a sea of children.  Even though I knew Ori's ANC was strong, I still was so overwhelmed by all of the children.  We hadn't been out like this in a year.

I eventually calmed myself down (after a phone call with Justin) and tried very hard to enjoy the moment with the boys.  They were having so much fun!  But once you've had a child with a weak immune system, you just never look at the world the same way.  I always hear the coughs, see the runny noses, think about where germs may be lingering.  It gets better as time passes, but it's always with you.

By the time we had been out to a few more places, I was feeling much better.  I was slightly nervous as we pulled into the packed zoo parking lot, but I just let it go and had fun with the boys.

So it's been a super past few weeks.  Ori was so excited to go to the library to pick his own library books.  He loved going with us to Trader Joes.  And of course we saw some fire stations, too.

We're scheduled to return to the hospital this week again for chemo.  It should be a fairly uneventful experience as his body reacts well to it.  Andon is still restricted from visiting, but we are hopeful that the restrictions will be lifted in time for our next hospital stay.