Furlough

Scott is home for a week on Juravinski furlough. Yipppeeeee! Turns out 1.0 neuts did the trick. 

Another biopsy handled like a pro, and another impressed medical team. There is no denying he has strong bones, making sample extraction tougher for the one performing the procedure. This sample was much redder than the last, and Kristine explained that the first one, taken at OT during initial diagnosis, appeared more white in colour due to the lukaemia cells. We’re choosing to take it as a good sign that they looked very different.

After another Neupogen shot, to encourage the neuts to continue developing, Scott was released back into the wild. The injection leaves him feeling very achy in his bones, and at times throughout the day can cause him to be quite uncomfortable.

He is scheduled to return to the hospital on Friday morning for the team to check his levels and make sure all is well. We will return again sometime on Monday to meet with Dr.L to discuss the biopsy results, cytogenic information and next steps for treatment.

Feeling much like a bubble boy his first time outside of his protective shell, Scott cautiously exited the hospital doors. Driving him home, I pointed out all the highlights of my daily route (Tim Hortons, the winding mountain road, the cheap Hamilton gas stations)… You know, the exciting stuff that he’s clearly been missing out on. Rest assured, five weeks without being in a car didn’t dull his ability to back seat drive 🙂

I can’t explain the mood driving home… The shock of Scott being discharged, the scariness of the biopsy, the uncertainty of how he will adjust back to home life… There were a lot of feelings bouncing around the car.

But the feeling that won out was that of appreciation for any time together, even if it is only a week before being checked back into the hospital. That’s a week of bedtime stories, playground visits and sleeps in his own bed. Though Scott did admit that he didn’t remember dinner time being this chaotic, I caught him a few times just watching the kids smiling.

Our sweet little Leigh couldn’t get enough of her daddy (after the initial alarm at seeing him after a month absence) and perhaps enjoys having a fellow baldie in the house. The kisses she was giving!

  
Harrison was thrilled, and reminded Scott throughout the afternoon and night that he’s not allowed to lift anything over 10 lbs. His world was back to normal when daddy read him stories by the light of the blackberry flashlight.

  
Mallory-Jane was told there was a surprise at home after school… She came in, smiled, cuddled her dad and then asked him “so what’s the big surprise?”

Feels like home.