Chandra's Journal
December 9, 2005
11:45 PM
Yesterday was cold. Not as cold as they were in Amarillo, but still cold. We didn’t have any reason to get out so we stayed in the apartment all day. Actually Canon kept his pajamas on all day! Everybody needs to do that once in a while.
Linda put a Christmas tree up yesterday and she and Canon put up little colored balls and little Santa ornaments. She even helped him decorate his own ornaments with glitter glue! They made one that says “Canon and Creed” and one that says “Mom and Dad”. They will definitely be keepsakes. The sparkling lights and festive decorations around really do seem to help my attitude lately. Looking at them reminds me to take a deep breath and enjoy the season.
However… it seems like something always happens to slam you down and strap you back down to the stress bus. Like last night when the fire alarm started screaming at 3:55 AM! It sounded like a freight train screaming in the room in surround sound. I bolted out of bed, took a quick look out the window expecting to see the whole building in flames or something. I saw the flashing alarm lights going off everywhere, but no fire. Still, I had one thought only… get the boys out of there! I quickly ran into the other room and told Linda to grab Creed and we would get out. I ran back and picked up Canon, crying of course. And the four of us hurried out of the apartment, all in our pajamas, me in bare feet (in 30 degrees). We got in the car and just sat there, not really having an alternate place to go. A curious thought struck me then… no one else was running out of the apartment yelling “Fire!” Could this be a common occurance?? Please God, don’t let this be a common occurance!! A minute later the alarm stopped, we got out of the car and headed back inside. My heart still pounding, I could then only think about the fact that I’m never going to get Canon and Creed back to sleep. To my surprise, when I told Canon “night, night” and laid him back down in his bed, he put his head on his pillow and went right back to sleep. Amazing! Creed was a different story, though. I had to feed him, change him, and hold him until he realized he was still sleepy. Anyway, I called the office this morning to ask about it and they said that the fire department came out to investigate and found nothing. The crazy part is that it happened last week, too, right before we moved in. Someone pulled the thing in the hallway, even though there has never been a fire. Drew told me tonight that that’s a felony; after what we went through last night, I’m glad it is, and I hope they find who did it!
Linda flew back to Abilene tonight and passed the torch to Drew for the weekend, who arrived a couple hours ago. I sent him a list of about 29 things to bring from home. Things like a couple of the boys matching outfits, so maybe we can take some good Christmas pictures. He also brought some more clothes from my closet and I’m selfishly glad to not have to mix and match the same two pairs of jeans and four tops anymore! It’s so nice to have him back and feel like a semi-normal family for a while.
Before Linda had to leave, we took the boys out to a restaurant – Luther’s Barbeque. I had never heard of it before, but I thought it was great. It felt like a celebration in and of itself just taking Canon to his first post-transplant restaurant! It was a perfect combination of fast (order in line, like Jason’s Deli), but not fast food (I got enough of that in the hospital), loud music (good in case my kids are having a particularly loud night), and not crowded so I didn’t worry too much about germs, although I did put his high chair through a 13-point alcohol wash and detail.
It’s interesting to watch the difference in Canon’s eating habits already. He eats almost twice as much food in a meal than he did before the surgery. Our transplant coordinator said that’s because of the prednisone (steroid) he’s taking; Linda also mentioned that he’s almost certain to have more room in his stomach since his liver isn’t crowding it anymore. Before the surgery, Canon never was much of a red meat eater (Drew doesn’t like me to share that with people ?), but tonight he ate HALF of my large brisket plate! And by the time we were ready to go, he was still reaching across the table to grab more fries!
Creed is four months old today! I can’t believe how fast four months has gone by. I probably have already mentioned this, but I’m daily amazed at how strong he is. I can already carry him on my hip facing out, which he seems to like. I’m sure he’s totally normal, but Canon has always felt so much more fragile. I told someone recently that I feel like I throw Creed around like a sack of potatoes compared to the way I had to handle Canon, just because he holds himself together so much tighter than Canon did. Another difference – fat rolls! Canon has always been so lean, ne’er a fat roll in sight; Creed has a fabulous double chin and the most irresistible chunky thighs you’ve ever seen! He’s now decided that he likes to hear himself squeal in delight; he sounds like one of those party toys that you blow in and they make a high-pitched… well, squeal! He also has this great contagious laughter – especially when Drew bounces the bed underneath him.
I sure do appreciate Linda staying with us this week. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mother-in-law! She was always anxious to play with the boys or just hold them for as long as they needed, and still had energy leftover to cook us spaghetti and chili. She made this week go by so much faster and I thank God that she is so willing to drop everything to come down and be Mom and MamaLu for as long as we need her!
Chandra