Location, Location, Location

I have to preface this post by saying that I have officially reached a point of tired that I did not know existed.  You'd think having two babies would have made me immune to the powers of sleep deprivation.  No dice.  I am in total zombie mode right now,  That is just to say that this post might be completely muddled and sloppy.  And it will definitely be a bit shorter than I would like.  But I wanted to provide a quick update because I know people have been wondering how our big move went to the Oncology floor.

As promised, we said our goodbyes to the ICU on Monday afternoon.  Although we could not have been happier with the fabulous care we received, we were thrilled to take the next step in terms of Fionn's treatment.  It was an important milestone, a sign that things were moving in the right direction towards remission.

But let's be real.  We were really just excited to get to the Big Wheels.

The Groteboer-Carriers were among our first visitors to our new digs.

We realized that every other kid had normal clothes on, so we brought him some pjs.

That's right.  The halls of the Oncology Ward at Children's Hospital are littered with some pretty awesome rides. Fionn, as you can see, is a bit partial to the John Deere tractor.  We pedaled that darn tractor all over the floor, only hopping off to hit up the playroom or the art room.  In true Fionn fashion, he is already acting like he owns the place.  "Beep!  Beep, beep!" he cried as he pedaled through a busy hallways.

You might notice an IV pole following closely behind our little speed demon.  Yep, that's Norman.  We named him.  Wherever Fionn goes, Norman must follow.  Fionn is actually getting pretty good about pulling Norman along with him, but sometimes he forgets and gets a little ahead of himself (and Norman). 

Of course, the absolute best part about moving on up to the 4th floor has been the visitors.  After days of having practically no contact with his brother, Fionn and Deaglan were finally reunited.  It was so adorable to watch them playing together.  Fionn kept spontaneously just hugging him which was definitely good for the old mother's heart.

Deaglan wasn't the only visitor we had to our little "hospital home" as we have called it.  My dad and Julie have been here since Monday evening, taking care of Deaglan at our house which has been enormously helpful.  

In case you are wondering, Dex is doing just great.  All of his caretakers have been kind enough to tell me that he doesn't seem to miss me at all.  Haha!  No, in all seriousness, we are so grateful that Deaglan has been thriving in the care of so many wonderful friends.  Huge thank yous to Corrie, Heather, Anne, and Amy for providing weekend Dex care until my Dad and Julie could arrive on Monday evening.  I don't know what we would have done without you ladies. 

Another thing we have enjoyed about our new digs is the ability to make it a little more homey for our boy (and, heck, for us too since we are living here for the greater part of this month).  Smack a little Bruce Springsteen onto the I-Pad, and it basically feels like home. 

In terms of Fionn's health, he is really doing great.  We are almost done with our first week of chemo.  All his numbers look good, his blood pressure is holding steady.  We couldn't be more pleased.  Looking at Fionn, you would never know he was sick.  He has the same level of energy, the same mischievous sense of humor.  It's really hard to believe that there is a little war waging inside his little body.  It still seems surreal.  I'm not sure when it will feel more real. 

Tomorrow is a big day for Fionn.  We have another bone marrow biopsy and lumbar puncture (otherwise known as a spinal tap) in the morning followed by Day 8 of Fionn's chemo meds.  These procedures should give us a preliminary idea of how well Fionn is responding to the the treatment.  We will definitely keep y'all posted after the surgeries. 

Until then...night, night.