Waiting

Hello, friends of Boo. We are once again in a holding pattern, but at least we are at home. Ravi was discharged from the hospital on Monday. The nurses who had cared for him for the last 18 days gave him a standing ovation. Truly, oncology nurses are the best! We are now enjoying a week at home. Ravi’s port is still accessed, and I am giving him IV antibiotics once a day. So far, he is being a very good sport about this. Robert is in charge of the other medications. At last count, I think there are at least 10 of them.

We went to PT on Tuesday so Ravi could see his beloved physical therapist, Susan , and do some light exercise. He was very happy to see her, but slept most of the rest of the day. We did not get out yesterday, but our lovely priest, Joy, came to visit and give him a blessing. Today, we check in at the clinic, and tomorrow he gets a visit from his longtime friend, Peter. Monday, we report to Mayo for blood work and a meet up with Dr. Houdek who will go over the plan for Tuesday. The following day is his surgery. It will probably take all day. As I said in my previous post, the hope and the prayer are to remove the infected hardware and replace it. The fervent prayer is that Dr. Houdek can salvage Ravi’s left arm.

It is hard to tell what Ravi understands. He knows he is having surgery to replace his hardware. He is not thrilled about that. I have not mentioned the part about possibly losing his arm. We will have that conversation today with our social worker and child life worker at Masonic Children’s. We will also make a mold of Ravi’s left hand, as a memory gesture. My prayer also is for God’s strength through all of this. Ravi needs me to be strong and optimistic. I have to be brave so he can be brave.

I do not know what the next week will bring. I know that your hopes, prayers, and good vibes will sustain us. I thank you for them. I will keep you updated as best as I can. In the meantime, be good humans. Peace, Harriet