5

Trip turned 5 on Thursday. He had a list of things he required for the day before we could call him a 5 year old. He had a wonderful celebration at school. His teachers are amazingly patient and always take an opportunity to make any situation a learning experience. I’m glad he was “fussed” over at school. We had a calm family celebration on Thursday evening with a trip to Dave and Busters and cake. It wasn’t the celebration Trip originally had in mind, but between chemo, soccer and not knowing how well he would feel, that’s the best we could do. We want the next big celebration to be when he gets off chemo. When he woke up on Friday, he asked, “Mom, am I still 5?” When I said yes he told me that he needed to be sure.

I can’t believe he is 5. The last two years have been a blur. I feel like most of my memories involve the hospital in some way and sometimes that gets to me, but boy am I thankful I could be there with him during treatment. That’s proof of the wonderfully understanding and patient people I work for and with. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people supporting my family and me the last two years. I will never be able to repay their kindness.

Trip played in his first soccer game on Saturday. I think his team got beat 10-0, but it was fun to watch. He had to be told a few times to quit picking grass and to pay attention to where the ball was. He shook his head when the other team scored, but on the way home he said, “I didn’t even get upset that we lost!” I’m thankful he can play and thankful he can find joy even in losing. His godparents were there to support him and his godbrother spent the night with him. After chemo, soccer and a sleepover, he slept most of Sunday afternoon.

I called radiology last week to reschedule his scans. I was told the earliest they would schedule them is March 14 since he has to wait a month after having pneumonia. I’m not sure I ever got the official verdict of pneumonia, but I guess the ER doctor hinted at that. Dr. Appel will have to get special permission from the anesthesiologist to move up the scans, and I’m not sure that will happen. As of now, scans are still pending, so I’m sure he’ll have another round of chemo in a couple of weeks.

He has an appointment with his endocrinologist on Monday. His DI medication has not worked normally in the last few weeks. His normal dosage dropped in half and has started to come up again. That messes with life a little because I never know when he is going to breakthrough. The nighttime dose typically wears off around 5:00 a.m. each day, but one day it didn’t until 10:00 a.m. so school was out of the question. When that happens it’s a watch-and-see approach and puts us on alert. The doctor and I have been on the phone often to figure it out, so I’m glad we have an appointment next week. She is also planning to test his cortisol levels in hopes of taking him off hydrocortisone. We are all ready for that.

In the meantime, we will enjoy age 5. I’m so thankful he is 5.