Still Miles to Go

It looks like Christmas came to my room and spewed red and green vomit everywhere. And I love it!

I’ll admit it: I was starting to lose my spirit a little after I’d been in two weeks, without an end in sight, and the projection of spending Christmas at MGH. I’d been poked and prodded every which way. Despite what my medical team was doing, my blood work was abnormal. And my first glimpse at freedom (the first attempt at the GJ tube procedure) failed. Fortunately, I’ve surrounded myself with people who make it nearly impossible to lose one’s spirit!

When some of my closest friends found out that I’d likely be spending Christmas in the hospital, they started plotting. And Saturday afternoon, I got greeted by a bunch of carolers singing “We wish you a Merry Christmas”: Karen, Stef, Ralph, Will, Sasha, and Katie. Melissa (Stef’s sister who is also in-patient) and Liz soon joined.

Me, Sasha, Stef, Will, and Karen

We spent that afternoon and evening having a small impromptu Christmas party and I think it’s be best one I’ve ever been to. Santa (aka Stef) brought a bag full of holiday crafts to keep us busy. Sasha and I got busy working on a glittery igloo (she REALLY likes glitter :P), Keith and Ralph worked on Santa’s toy shop, Melissa and Katie worked on a gingerbread house, Stef made a Rudolph bell necklace, and Karen and Will got to work on a holiday train complete with snowmen!

We had a blast chatting, joking, listening to Christmas music, and nearly forgetting where the party was taking place. The desk in my room is filled with all our homemade creations as well as the tree Erin brought me. My spirit has returned and I’m ready for this battle!

All the beautiful creations

Finally, the young girl I tutor stopped by Sunday afternoon with her mom to say “hi” and spoil True with bones and treats. She finished reading the Harry Potter series so we got to have a nice long chat about the books as well as incorporate some of our vocabulary words into the discussion.

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In other news, not too much has happened since I last wrote. The plan is still for the GJ Tube procedure to be on Thursday with Interventional Radiology involved.  Unfortunately, I’m still struggling keeping food down by mouth.  Since my labs are all screwy (and I just started my 7th banana bag of the two-week stay), my medical team has determined that short-term TPN (IV nutrition) is the route we need to take.  In the next couple hours, I’ll have my PICC line placed so we can get my nutrition back on track prior to Thursday’s procedure.

The only other recent hiccup was an infected IV site.  Luckily, we caught it early enough that it didn’t get too bad. Pray that the next week goes smoothly and I can get out of this joint by New Year’s Eve!