Things are coming together

We left a day early and drove to Pennsylvania. We stopped by Steamtown, a train museum in Scranton. They had one of the original Big Boy Steam trains. We saw a real roundhouse, a turntable, and Aaron went on his first real train ride. The kids were in heaven.

Then on to Cincinnati. After getting only four hours of sleep each night, I broke down in tears. Finally, someone listened to me. I explained that I cannot function anymore. I cannot take care of Aaron or myself when I am exhausted. The pain team was put in charge of the situation. They first want to focus on Aaron's pain and make him more comfortable. They also are adding melatonin to help with sleep. So far his sleeping hasn't gotten better, but there is a Plan B if needed. I have also gotten permission to cut off his food/drink intake in the middle of the night. This will be a hard, but very much needed change.

Aaron's GVHD continues to be amazing. His skin is softer than ever and we should be able to wean even further in a few weeks. He made it to a level where his body can start healing. His kidney function was better this time. I was sad to find out that the discoloration on his face won't ever go away and he will be reminded of his transplant every time he looks in the mirror. I pray that he does not have a hard time because of it.

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Daddy's coming home!

What an absolutely horrible month! I really hate to be negative, but there is no way to sugar coat the events of these past few weeks.

Aaron's tantrums have gone from bad to worse. During one of his tantrums he was yanking on my chair so hard that he fell backwards and fractured his L2 vertebra. After that he could barely walk and his tantrums have escalated. We believe his behavior could be due to pain. Aaron does not usually behave badly. Something has to be wrong.

He wakes me up about four times each night for up to an hour each time. I am getting 3-4 hours of sleep. I was getting 5-6 hours a night which wasn't enough and now I am severely sleep deprived. I am not functioning well and have daydreams about sleeping in the garage in my car so no one can find me to wake me up. He is hungry, thirsty, and needs to use the bathroom. I wish I could ignore him, but the doctors say I need to accommodate his needs.

Michael has been stuck in Trinidad. His passport expired this month. He has been trying to renew it for over a month. Part of the government went on strike and passport production has been halted. He had to go there before his passport expired or else he would not be able to travel there to get the passport. Being a pilot, he cannot work without a passport.

We got a text from Mike just now that he is on a flight to Orlando. Thank goodness! We are all excited to see him. He was gone for his birthday and Father's Day. We look forward to a few celebrations and I look forward to sleep.

Here is Serena's reaction to her daddy coming home:




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