Trapped in the sickhouse

I told Peyton to do something today and she walked away muttering "Blah blah blah".

It's wrong to beat your kids…it's wrong to beat your kids…it's wrong to beat your kids…….

I'm glad to report that Rachael's chicken pox are now completely crustified, Nathaniel is fever-free and bouncing off the walls with the energy that only 9 year old bodies can contain, and Peyton has no new spots! It is a good day.

Because we were trapped at home one last day before I unleash the Mayhew hounds of plague on the general public, it was a keep 'em busy or they'll drive me wild sort of day. We constructed a nice fort in the living room, I made them clean for a while (because I like to torture them just a little bit) and then I promised them the sun, moon and stars….basically, the free movie in the morning, a McDonalds lunch and a trip to Target if no one gets sick during the night. This is the deal I made with them, I will take you places and let you be around other human beings again if you swear to keep your little germy bodies under control! As if this were all their doing.

We also have a late afternoon chemo trip to the clinic to make up for our "we don't get nothing?" appointment on Monday. As long as her counts are good, we should be seeing the last of our Delayed Intensification 2 round and head swiftly into maintenance!!

Hallelujah!!

And then only 24 more months of treatment to go. 730 days. 17520 hours. 1,051,200 minutes left.

Well, that was a little depressing. That's why I dislike math.

But this does mean that we've gotten through the roughest part of it, the 4 times a week trips to the clinic, the radiation, the hair loss. We now have clinic chemo once a month, count checks every other week, chemo and other meds to take at home around the freaking clock at home, but it IS at home! It just feels good to know that we've made it this far, getting to maintenance is a landmark…we're just that much closer to being done with treatment. And now I can watch her hair grow back and know that it's here to stay this time….3 times it came out completely, and now we should be done with all of that.

It's 10 PM, Peyton's still awake in her bed, but she's spent the last three nights going to bed in the room she shares with Rachael and not coming in "until the sun comes up"….I still wake up with her cuddled up next to me, but it's progress. She's fought going to bed EVERY night…tonight she got her little fanny smacked…but it's a step towards getting her back to what the rest of her life is going to be….I guess, now the preferential treatment has to stop and we have to move forward in all the things we've let slide. It's time to get back to business on the potty-training and getting rid of the binkies, and sleeping through the night in her own bed….we aren't asking for much….just the whole world as far as she's concerned.

We got a write up in the [url=http://www.ospreyobserver.com/200706/story404.shtml]Osprey Observer[/url] here in Brandon, a small local newspaper, for the Peyton-Palooza. Anyone interested in coming out to lend a hand on Friday or Saturday is more than welcome to come, we're sure to find something for you to do. We are also just jazzed about the number of calls and offers of stuff! It's going to be such a fun day, I can't wait.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa