Saturday, February 13, 2010

And Off We Went

The day after surgery was a BIG one, long planned and much anticipated. John Paul played in his first official basketball game. And it was a double header. He and his team, The Orange Beavers (kind of like what all the first graders' permanent front teeth look like right now) did a terrific job! It is interesting to me how the refs basically let things move on as long as the players are in motion and not heinously out of bounds. No scores are kept but everyone watching is taking mental note. It is too funny how competitive we are as parents, checking our players out to see if they have a "future". Some other teams were even keeping their own stats. Of first graders. Crazy!

We hightailed it after the game over to Idaho and to Triple Play in Hayden. It is a pretty cool indoor water park with attached bowling, laser tag, putt-putt, and arcade. It is also oh so conveniently attached to a hotel..... We get checked in and off to the party room to celebrate Gabriel's 5th birthday.

Keep in mind this takes some significant navigating for me. Because I am on immunosuppressants to prevent rejection, large crowded places, especially full of kids, is not on my approved activity list. But some things are just worth throwing caution to the wind, right? So a quick in and then a quick out after pizza, ice cream cake, and gifts. I would have had to spend the rest of the day in the hotel room anyways because of "Germs". So I'm back in the room, hiding from kids and people with germs, ice packing my boob surgery site. I take my good times on the road....

Craig went with the boys to join the others in the water park. They had a great time as expected. I am naturally jealous but at the same time very pleased that they had so much fun.

I am up and down all night, the usual for me, plus some extra with the surgery discomfort. I think I was so pissed and irritated that I had to have the surgery that I forgot I was having surgery. If that makes any sense. Surgery hurts.

Free hot breakfast, with lots of kids. It's not so crowded if you are there at 6:00 am when they open. We immunosuppressed people know all these tricks. BUT....we immunosuppressed people are not allowed to eat mass produced food, that is sitting out where people can put their germs in them, and sitting for who knows how long at possibily the wrong temperatures. Huge danger zone! But I was hungry, it was free, and I needed to take another pain pill.

Next we get over to Kootenai Medical Center to see Keri and meet Liam. Children, of course, are not allowed to visit in the hospital, so Craig and I took turns going in. My turn involves breaking my immunosuppressed rules, again, by even entering the hospital. You would be amazed at how many germs are in hospitals. Not just the sick patients. So hand sanitizer in hand, mask on, I go up to Maternity. I am promptly stopped as the nurse thinks I am sick and she is going to kick me out. I explain the situation and the she lectures me about being in the hospital "with my condition". Thanks for the concern.

I must wear the mask around the baby but I did break the "three feet" rule. I did not touch the baby or hold the baby. These particular rules are derived from neither I nor the baby have an immune systems. Neither of us have our vaccinations yet. We are at present a two-way germ infection. But I am looking forward to breaking those rules too someday.

Keri is beautiful. The baby is beautiful. And both are doing well. To my surprise, I cried when I met Liam and saw Keri holding him. It triggered a cascade of emotions.

On our way back to Spokane, we stopped in Spokane Valley for the boys to attend a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Okay, I give in on this one. No way, no how. A stay in the car while Craig takes the kids in. But.... that morning Brennan woke up sick with a cold. John Paul had a great time.

Now I have to avoid my own child who has LOTS of icky germs. And as a Mom, all you want to do is love on them and console and comfort. Ugh, this is all so hard! He ended up home from school the next day too. And then the day after that Craig was home sick with the cold. Talk about having to isolate and avoid.... All the standard immunosuppressed rituals began and continued. I won't bore you with it, but it's quite an undertaking.

The super Bowl took up the rest of the afternoon. GO SAINTS!!!!!!

Good news is that we are all healthy now.

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