Idan has been starting to feel the side effects of the chemo and other various medications he’s been on and has been in a fair amount of pain. Fevers, itching & burning rash, and (sadly) back to pull ups – all quite a lot to handle. Idan’s aunt Tamara has been visiting and that has been an incredibly welcome and helpful distraction. He also had his first “school” session for the first time back in New York, with a wonderful teacher named Katie who volunteered to tutor Idan once a week (have we mentioned how much we love the people here?). He missed learning so much, so this session brought him a lot of joy.
Later in the afternoon he started to experience more intense pain and GI issues, and then his rash began to flare up again. We had a good long cry together after an especially intense two hours, and then, once the pain meds started to kick in, he was singing silly songs again and happily playing.
At the end of the day yesterday, as we were getting Idan ready for bed, he turned to his IV pole (named Ga) and gave it a loving pat and a smile. Then he turned to us and, still smiling, said, “Ga is giving me lots of presents to help the new cell family.” It’s the very last thing we expected him to say about this giant awkward machine that he is constantly tethered to, tripping over, and stubbing his little toes under (not to mention the fact that it’s giving him meds that make him feel sick all the time), but once again he surprises us. Idan’s courage and ability to focus on the goal is just… well, there are no words for that.
Finally, we wanted to share a sweet story. Akiva popped out to the supermarket yesterday and a woman rushed up to him as he was at the cash register and insisted on paying for his groceries. She was a young mom and she came over when she saw the Seattle Children’s Hospital parent badge around his neck. She told Akiva that she spent a fair amount of time at Seattle Children’s Hospital a few years ago and now every time she sees someone with that badge, she pays for their groceries. A nice reminder that, even when it seems that the world outside is filled with hate and terror, there are truly good people (and you can probably find them in your local supermarket).