Day 7: It's still two steps forward, one step back. Last night was a little more lively but still better than the first two weeks. Her appetite continued to improve but then she tossed her lunch. Her favorite activity is still pulling out her hair and making little fuzz piles around the room - drives me crazy.
As the acute physical concerns subside, the emotional ones set in. Will the cells engraph or do we have to repeat the last two weeks? Is her nasal stuffiness a virus that will take over? What unknown problems are waiting to arise? Will she get an infection? Will one of us get sick? You get the idea.
Luckily we learned a little trick the last go around that has helped in this department. We learned that in our brains fear (anxiety) and gratitude cannot occur at the same time. One added twist is that the gratitude must be written. This has worked every time for me to short-circuit unproductive worries and calm my mind to move on to things I can control. At night I just pretend to write the words of my gratitudes instead of getting up for paper. Then I can relax enough to fall asleep...until the next machine beeps!
Have her fly one of her planes down the main corridor of the ward!! The nurses will probably like the distraction!
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