Familiarity Calms the Heart
I’m sitting in a hospital room with my two boys. They are playing a video game on their cell phones two feet away from one another. Brawl Stars, for those of you interested. There’s a fair amount of banter, some solid trash talk, and basic competitiveness that goes along with friendly digital sparring. Hodge is searching for snacks. Stro shouts, “BRO!” every once in a while while they play. I’ve missed two boys in one room. Other than the unique location, there is a familiarity about this scene that calms my heart.
Strother finished round one of chemo. He is off IV fluids. He reaches back once in a while to put his oxygen cannula back on when he feels a little out of breath. We should be discharged tomorrow afternoon for a 14 day respite from hospital life. We’ll have oxygen on hand at home should he need it for sleep or just a boost during the day. Strother will be at Darin’s house for these two weeks and he’s graciously opened his home to those of us who will be watchful caregivers. His risk of infection grows as his while blood cell counts diminish. Keeping him free from exposure to anything that can cause a fever is paramount over the next 6-10 days.
I’m looking forward to cooking again. Nourishing my family brings me so much pleasure. I’m glad my son will get some good rest in a dark room without interruptions throughout the night. Hodge is entertaining in ways those of us who do not enjoy online gaming could never be. Something about today feels almost normal. It is far from it. Strother should be suffering some kind of weird pledgeship rituals with 60 boys somewhere on the TCU campus and studying classes for that have long passed my comprehension abilities. I should be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean working with my home away from home family and flight crews. (And if anyone has any special WordPress skills, please pass that along. Webpage creation is not in my wheelhouse.) Hodge should be doing homework — I’ll press him on that as he leaves here soon. But as the tumor slowly shrinks in his body, I’m catching my own breath too. My heart rate is normalizing. We’ll fall into a rhythm over the next three months that will best serve this process. Thank you for joining us.
With Love,
Blythe