5300 unit

Anna had treatment on Friday, which was an all day event. Kathleen drove her and was a trooper for hanging around all day. Friday night Anna's parents came out, along with TJ so we had a busy household. It was great to see Anna and TJ, as I hadn't seen them all week because I was fighting off a cold and Anna really shouldn't catch a cold... it really starts to complicate things, especially if she were to get a fever or anything like that.

Anna had treatment on Saturday and Sunday back in the 5300 unit at St Barnabas. Since her discharge from the hospital about a month ago, all of her appointments had been in a different wing of the hospital that deals with Oncology for outpatient type stuff. Because these appointments were on the weekend, we had to go back to the 5300 unit which is where she stayed for about 6 weeks. Although she had been back once before to visit, this time was definitely different. I could see it in her eyes as we were heading up there, that she wasn't completely comfortable with it. Her dad was with us (along with TJ), so I could tell she was fighting back tears and trying to remain strong. It definitely was tough for me, so I'm sure it was very hard on her. As we were taking the ride up the elevator, it really reminded me of the day that they moved her from the ER to a room, and I was watching the floors go by (ie. short-term stay, maternity, etc) until we got to the Oncology unit. There are some things we'll just never forget. Although there was no intent or reason to keep her there, I think we both just felt weird about having to go to that area of the hospital and spend time in one of those rooms. It was really nice though to see all the nurses. They are really wonderful people and we'll all be eternally grateful for providing Anna with physical and emotional support throughout her stay (and beyond).

We spoke that night and reflected on the progress she's made over the last month and just how different things were just a few months before that. Saturday night seems to be the night when the house is a little quieter than normal as we are generally in between "shifts". Whereby, her parents had headed back into the city and my mom wasn't coming down until Sunday.

My mom came down today and will be here through Wednesday. I think she's really enjoying her time as grandma.

Good week in football. Pittsburgh wins. Jets win. Giants win.