A December Miracle

Ravi is full of surprises. Yesterday, we went out to lunch with a dear friend. Midway through the meal, Ravi reached up to scratch his upper lip and half of his moustache fell off! For some reason, this struck us as very silly, and we had a good laugh. As we were finishing our meal Ravi had a tonic clonic seizure. He did this very quietly, tipping backwards in his seat. The three of us acted like a well-oiled machine. I slipped my hands under his head to prevent any trauma. Alissa grabbed his rescue meds from his bag. In one fluid motion, Robert tucked and rolled under the table to catch Ravi if he fell off the bench. Except for the one person who gave Robert a quizzical look, no one in the entire restaurant seemed aware of what had just happened. We gathered up our belongings, cleared the table, and with Ravi leaning heavily on us, got in the car. We dropped Alissa off and headed home. Once home, Ravi collapsed in bed and began snoring. We gave him formula, fluids and meds through his G tube and left him to sleep off the post-ictal period. I went to bed with the premonition that the next day could be rough.

Today, we had to be at the clinic early for fluids and labs. I was worried that the nurses would take one look at my emaciated, dehydrated son and admit him to the hospital. Amazingly, as we got to the clinic he perked up, not looking nearly as gaunt or haggard. To my surprise, his weight was up several kgs. I told the nurse about his cold, his seizure, his dehydration. She took blood for labs and said when the labs came back, they would decide about fluids. At this point, Ravi was happily perched on the bed watching videos and in no apparent distress. The nurse listened to his lungs but said that they sounded clear. A few minutes later the lab work came back. Both the nurse and I were amazed. His counts were either normal, or slightly below normal and trending in the right direction. 

The next two hours passed quickly. Ravi got a bolus of saline and a different medicine to help prevent pneumonia. He was happy and interactive the entire time. The only way one could tell he had just had chemo was that he was shedding hair profusely. This did not alarm him a bit. The nurse commented that the shedding might make his scalp itchy, so I made a mental note to shave his head when we got home. She and I had a great conversation about her work on the oncology floor and her patients. I am even more firmly convinced that oncology nurses are angels in disguise. They make everything about life with cancer better. I commented to her that a year ago, being at the clinic was so scary, and now it just felt so ordinary. I told her Ravi never minded coming to the hospital. She said that is the goal of the clinic. Though no one wants to have cancer, the nurses try to make life as ordinary as possible for their pediatric patients. During this conversation, Ravi alternated between watching a video and beaming at her. She beamed back at him and eventually, we made our way to the door.

Once home, I had only one wish, to get off my feet and have something to eat. Ravi had other plans. He refused to get out of the car. He liked being out of the house. I closed the garage door and went inside to find Robert. Robert had been at home all day and was looking for an excuse to go out, so he decided to take Ravi for a ride in the car. I headed for the couch and happily collapsed in a pile of snoozing animals. All concerned were happy. 

As I reflected on the day, I could not get over Ravi’s good mood. He woke up feeling post ictal and terrible, but he was still smiling. He was happy to see the nurses. Though he had his port accessed and was poked and prodded he took it all in good form. Miraculously, his labs and weight were stable. We did not have to be admitted to the hospital. This was the best Christmas present we could ask for. It is the simple things that bring joy. We get to be at home in our own beds tonight. Ravi is happy and smiling. We are not living in the sheer terror that we were a year ago. These are simple things for which my family is very greatly. May your holidays be full of simple things that bring you great joy. Peace.