Friday

I am done with this week, thank God! I felt like I was on the verge of a nuclear melt down. Yesterday I had rehab which was actually a lot of fun. It was bit depressing since my two patients were stroke patients, it just is sad to see what some people end up becoming. I learned a lot from the speech therapy team, and the interdisciplinary meeting was pretty cool.

However, at speech yesterday, I had my phone in my pocket because I was waiting for Shelley to call me with an update on Madison's surgery when I got an email from Prince Phillip. He had received an email from his mom that basically said "your father's condition is deteriorating; his tumors have tripled in size in 1 week; the tumors are visible now; please try to take time when we get there next week to all take your father out individually." Not really what you want to hear. I got that at 0900, which was the time that the therapies began. I am selfishly sad for myself, I am very sad for Phillip and I'm sad for our kids, they will never have known him. I bought a book for Phillip to sit down with his Dad and fill it, it basically goes through his whole history and documents it. It goes through childhood, college, how he met Sherry, having kids, advice, etc. I think that having that will at least be a nice thing we have for our children.

After I got out of rehab at 1300, I headed straight to the boys house. I talked to Shelley on the way, Madison was still in surgery (which had gotten started about 0815) they had already removed her entire right kidney/tumor, and were in the process of putting a port in--she was doing well. I got to their house only to find that Brooke had completely messed up the little ones' schedule. Both of the babies (Jackson and Madison's 9 week old brother Fenn) had jsut woken up for a namp at 1300 which is when they were supposed to be going down. Is it really that hard to follow a schedule?!?! Whatever. Cooper was wonderful, he and Jackson were both super excited to see me (which is always nice), and I don't think there is anything much better then snuggling with a little tiny baby (and he is a fabulously happy baby)! Robbie got home pretty late, but was as sweet as always.

Shelley called me when Madison was getting up to the PI, she was doing well, had woken up agitated (which is expedcted) but other than that she was about to come home and she talked Ashley into coming home to sleep last night. Shelley and I talked a bunch and then after we put all 4 boys to bed early and we waited for Ashely to get out of the shower. Once she was out we basically just let her know that if a baby is going to get cancer this is a good one to get. If she were to have gotten leukemia or something like that it isn't like you can take out her bone marrow. We told her that Madison is going to be great. Ashley asked if we thought it was stupid to think that Madison would be "cured (in remission) by her third birthday" and I told her that I didn't think it would be stupid to think she'd be in remission by Christmas. She is due to have 20 round of chemo that would put her ending just before Thanksgiving. I think it is completely possible. We told her that she and Chip, if no one else, has to have hope. She was also telling me that she was so sad that Madison would be going through this and how hard this is going to be on her, and I told Ashley that this is going to be by far more traumatic for her and Chip then for Madison. I mean they will access the port, she will cry, you'll give her a lollipop, put on a movie, and all will be right in Madison's world. She won't even remember this ever happened.

Anyways, sorry about all this terrible cancer talk--unfortunetly it affects more for people then I'd like.

Love always Hopes.