Quick update…
We just had the “weekend shift switch”. I came in, so that Yancy could spend Monday, Memorial Day, at home with the kids. I was home for Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Felt good to garden, mulch, bike ride with Em and Eliot, etc.
Yancy and Ethan had a good weekend together. While Ethan’s energy level is still very low, Ethan’s spirits are much higher. He’s happier, jokes, giggles and smiles. Our Ethan as we know him is emerging!
I brought Eliot in with me for a quick visit, as he hadn’t been in for a while. He enjoyed hanging out with Ethan, drinking Ginger Ale (the highlight of Eliot’s visits), and playing with Ethan’s stash of toys.
Eliot is too little too realize that he constantly misses Ethan. He makes up for Ethan’s absence by clinging on to Emma a bit more. He needs someone to fill that void he has, but doesn’t realize it.
Last Thursday Emma came in after school and attended a “just sibs” program they have just started here at the hospital. It’s for the siblings of the kids on this oncology unit. No patients, no parents, just sibs. She enjoyed the two-hour meeting, which included dinner, crafts, and general group discussion with a social worker. This was good for her… Then, we had a sleepover! She spent the night with me in Ethan’s room. We had movie night, and Emma and Ethan did crafts for the entire evening and morning. I could feel it in their spirits, their behavior, see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice….they were so happy to be together and do their things together again…this was a good idea.
Posted in Ethan's Fight, Uncategorized
May 28th, 2007 at 7:08 PM
Hello from 6West and your Ipswich neighbors. Although our meetings have been brief, this is just a reminder that your communities at home near Rowley, as well as on the oncology units of 6West/6North, have families who are also on this journey. It is a challenge for all of us, but we can often help each other, too. So we offer you whatever sort of support that cancer families can sometimes share with each other. Mostly…we know what it’s like, to some degree, to be where you are, although it’s different for every child and every family. You can contact us by visiting http://www.dok.com or emailing gaildoktor@mac.com. Otherwise, we’re just down the hall for another few days. Sounds like we’ll probably be on the transplant unit, perhaps even overlapping with you, for a while. We will pray for Ethan’s remission, his stability, for answers to questions, for responses to wishes, for a good donor match, and for strength and resilience and humor and some rest time for all the rest of you…and lots of support. For our family, saying YES when people offer help, and being specific about what sort of help works for the family, has been a huge boon! Rowley, like Ipswich, is a responsive community, and they will want a chance to do something to be involved and make a difference for all of you. With you on this journey. — Jessie’s & Sarah’s family, Chris & Gail Doktor