home cookin'

Anna's parents and TJ spent the night out at the house. It was great to see all of them. I really think he grew an inch and somehow learned about 20 new words. The kid really is a sponge with information. We spent some time together last night and again this morning. Anna's parents had a friend, Mercedes, helping out with TJ's care over at their place just to provide another set of hands. Of course, one of his new favorite words is 'cedes (as he seems to skip the first syllable on longer words). He's really being well cared for all around and he is getting along so well with everyone. His Spanish to English language mix is pretty close to 50/50 these days, which is pretty cool. He's smart enough to try both if you don't understand him or choose to ignore him the first time.

Anna's parents came out to see her this morning. They had a great visit. Anna was thrilled to see them and spend a little time with them. It really helped to brighten her day. I traded places with her parents and came over around 1pm.

Anna hadn't really been eating much the past couple days, but this evening she had some of Carmen's (Anna's mom) cooking. A little home cooked lentil soup was just what she needed. Her appetite is slowly starting to build up again, which is always a good sign. Physically, she looks pretty good. The only thing that stands out is her hair, which is pretty thin at this point. We had a funny moment a few weeks ago with one of the nurses where Anna was describing how when she walks by one of the vents, she could feel the air blowing on her head - which is kind of a weird feeling as you wouldn't feel it if you had a full head of hair. That night, she described her head as being bald like a monkey's butt... not really sure where it came from, but it kind of stuck. Now when I come in, I always ask how my monkey's butt is doing. I guess my point was, that she looks pretty good - hair is just pretty thin at this point. We brought over the clippers and will probably get rid of the rest at some point, but just haven't been feeling up for that lately.

She had a pretty good night of rest and caught some more sleep during the day today. She's starting to move around a little better, but still feeling a bit immobilized. At this point, walking will help her as she's had a few days of minimal movement. Her parent's started to pack up some of the cards and other things in her room today. I think we're all getting ready for her to get out of here.

Anna and I had a few really good conversations today. We're starting to finalize some of the plans associated with her home care. Also, we spoke about how this is a bit of an emotional roller coaster for everyone involved, but her especially. She's a very strong person and it would be so easy to fall into a "why me?" trap, but she's really avoided that for the most part.

As mentioned, I was behind on all the cards/packages, etc... so here we go... special thanks to:
Kathleen for sending a care package with pictures of Tino Martinez (one of Anna's favorites), Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Bands, and some other stuff. (Kathleen - do you have the picture of Tino holding the TJ sign? I remember seeing it once, but can't find it.)
My mom and Dad for sending a cards and pictures of TJ from their recent trip.
Xiomara and Steve for sending a couple of books and card.
Courtney and Shauna for sending a care package with a cute outfit.
Stephanie for sending a care package and a t-shirt for TJ.
Emelia and her son Chris for sending cards.

My apologies if I missed someone. Also, it was great to see all the comments over the last few days. We heard form a few people whom we haven't spoken with in quite a while.

For the last few days she hasn't been feeling up to talking on the phone or texting. Please just be patient. When she is feeling up to it, she'll be in contact.