“Oh no!! Mommy, your coffee tipped over!”
That’s the first thing that came out of Peyton’s mouth this morning about a millisecond after a car collided with the rear end of our car. I’ve told Pete for months that since making the drive to the clinic (which is right by USF) in the morning (when all the USF students are rushing late to class) I was going to get hit eventually (guess who I assumed would hit me!) at the 75/Fowler exit. Today was that day.
But, lo! It was not a college student, hung-over from a night of frolicking at the nearest frat party that flung his automobile into mine, it was a 30-something business man, apparently too busy contemplating his upcoming meeting to notice the 50 cars with their brake lights on in front of him. When we pulled off the road, the first thing I did was get out and check on Peyton, it wasn’t a hard bump, but enough for me to be a little nerved up. I wanted to make sure that her head was still on her shoulders and that she wasn’t feeling the need to call 1-800-neck-injury.
The guy who hit me was dismayed at seeing that I had a child in the car.
“Oh, man, you have a kid in the car. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, you caught us on the way to chemotherapy.”
I truly thought his head was going to implode. I had to think for a minute about what I’d actually said….was it “Wow, I’ve been looking for you, I think you’re the single reason my kid has cancer!”?….or was it “They’ve decided that you’re hoarding all the weapons of mass destruction in the trunk of your car and the marines are on their way to flog you to death.”? That’s the expression he had on face. Poor guy. If you have to hit someone with your car, please don’t le it be someone with kids and PLEASE don’t let it be a kid with cancer….that should definitely be a rule in a driver’s ed book somewhere.
There was absolutely no damage to either car, the worst it did was rearrange the dirt on the back of ours…I was pretty put out about that, it had taken me quite a while to get that dirt in exactly the formation I wanted it. We exchanged information and I let him escape before the flogging began.
Peyton’s scraped by on counts and got her dose of spinal Methotrexate and IV Methotrexate. The spinal tap went really well again, thanks to the help of the virtual reality goggles that were so wonderful last time. Peyton got her happy drugs, put on the goggles and went away to her happy place. She flinched a little when the needle was poked around, but other than that, it was a breeze….absolutely amazing.
Dr. Kerr observed her walking, still noticeable limping and I assured her that there was still a lot of pain in her legs and the decision was made to hold her dose of Vincristine to see if it alleviates her neuropathy. She’s not scheduled to get another dose for 10 days, so we’ll see if any of the symptoms subside, and I’m not sure what happens next if they don’t.
Sandy from the Children’s Dream Fund came to see us today during our clinic visit. Nothing like showing a kid who’s all hopped up on pain medication a scrapbook of things like buildings made of carrots and miniature train cities. She was both confused and delighted. This is an organization that works like the Make a Wish foundation, but is local to Florida. They will be fulfilling Peyton’s dream wish. We’re still trying to decide what is the best thing for her and work out a schedule that we might be able to do something, but we are definitely excited about having the opportunity available. Cancer stinks, but there is the occasional perk….hockey tickets, Disney on Ice tickets, parties and dream wishes. I’d give up all those perks in a heartbeat if she could just get well, but if we have to go through it, then the little benefits do make for some times that alleviate the stress and strain of it all.
The Dream Wish that we’re most thinking about doing is called Give Kids the World. It is a 6 night, 7 day trip to the GKTW complex in Kissimmee. It’s a 75 acre place that has individual 2 bedroom houses for each visiting family, a pizza parlor, an ice cream parlor open from 7 am-11pm, pools, water park, a carousal, lakes with swimming, fishing and boats, arcades and computer rooms, restaurants onsite, all sorts of fun and cool things to do. Then the Children’s Dream Fund provides tickets for the family for Disney, MGM, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Universal, Adventure Island, Sea World…plus money for expenses and food and souvineers and gas, there are no out of pocket expenses for the family. Bonus!! They give the family special buttons to wear at the parks letting them know that we are with GKTW and we don’t have to wait in any lines. SWEET!
The Give Kids the World is an opportunity that is only available to kids who are critically ill. So this is a once in a lifetime chance to go. I don’t know if this will be our end decision, but its sure sounds good, doesn’t it?
Relay is creeping up on Friday, there is so much to be done and organized and we still have a lot of work to do. Our team got passed in donations and if anyone wants to log onto our team site and donate a few bucks it’ll put us back on top and closer to our goal! I have this overwhelming dread that Peyton will get sick in the next 48 hours and this will cause me to miss the Relay, she’s had low counts for the past couple of weeks and got heavy chemo today. I know if it happens it’s not the end of the world, but I’ll be disappointed and miss it.
Our wonderful friend Dave from Dynamic Printing has graciously offered to print off the copies of our magazine covers so that they will be as beautiful as the children they represent. Thank you so much, Dave! There have been so many people stepping in to help out and I just appreciate that so much.
HOLD EVERYTHING!! BIG HUGE NEWS! YES IT REQUIRES A LOT OF CAPITAL LETTERS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!
Peyton just used her potty! For more than a step stool or a clothes rack! She actually peed in it! Mark the time, 7:56 pm on Wednesday April 11, 2007. This is big news and a step in the right direction….we made absolute fools of ourselves in celebration!
And, her plant finally sprouted some little green leaves. Finally!
It is a monumental day in the life of Peyton Mayhew.
And now we dance!
I can’t think of a single thing that is more important than the potty news so I just have to end this post now and go bask in the fantasy of a diaper-free existence.
f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—-Anissa
