Day +60: The Anticipated Nod

I've noticed for some time now that Mondays have this habit of following pleasant weekends. And so once again, and quite possibly for the last time, Keith will visit the clinic for his usual physical and labs followed later by his final radiation treatment. Unless something wildly unexpected happens we expect to get discharge instructions and after that, the most anticipated nod ever; the nod to return to Orinda sometime on Tuesday. There will certainly be more tests needed to establish Keith’s current state of disease, or hopefully lack thereof, including a series of outpatient visits back at Stanford a week following discharge for a couple of MIBG scans. The remaining tests should be able to be handed off to Children’s Hospital Oakland again, making life a bit more convenient for us.

It was a very quiet weekend at the RM House. In fact we were the only family in the 6 unit immune wing so we had the whole place to ourselves. We managed to coax Keith into gearing up with his mask and headed outside on this beautiful day to kick a ball around the yard. I expected him to hobble around and be quickly winded, but he would have none of that – racing around, kicking the ball and rolling in the grass instead. Except for the very short haircut and the pink mask he seemed in every respect just a regular kid. On several occasions I even heard the sound of muffled laughter trying to escape from behind that oversized respirator clamped to his head.

To our friends Kristi and Chuck we owe special thanks. Without even knowing us beforehand, they offered the cottage of their beautiful home in Portola Valley to us ‘sight unseen’ to use during the past two months so that we could maintain a semblance of family unity during Keith’s difficult treatment. During Keith’s hospital stay only one parent was allowed to sleep in Keith’s room so the cottage became a key part of the infrastructure that enabled us to both stay nearby and support Keith. Also, having Scott able to spend weekends with Keith was only made possible by having access to the cottage. Keith adores his big brother and having him able to stay nearby so that he could spend more time with Keith was a huge uplift to his spirits. A very generous and much appreciated gesture by a truly wonderful family.

Scott and I are now back in Orinda where in less than 48 hours we should be joined by Josie and the man himself. That would make four Kelley’s and a one pudgy cat all under a single roof again….