Hope was happy to see everyone - and I think it was mutual. We got to hang out with our friend Amanda and her parents. (They are so close to maintenance - yay!) Plus clown and bubble bonus.
But it was some special good news that pushed us over the edge. Dr. Gordon gave Hope the green light to go back to school - not just play outside with the kids, but actually go *inside*! One of the attendings that we really like came by to reassure me that it would be fine. He said that the real threats to Hope these days are more internal than external - though even a low-grade fever still earns us a trip to the ER for IV antibiotics (so we'd just as soon she not get sick), it's bloodstream infections that are the real potential danger and there's not much we can do to guard against that.
We got to the car and my face hurt from grinning. It occurred to me that maybe Hope hadn't been paying attention to my conversations with the doctors so I asked her if she had heard what Dr. Gordon said.
"Gordon say I go IN!"
Yup, she got it. So Monday morning she got dressed for school, I packed her lunch, and as I gathered our stuff together she added a red tutu to her "first day of school" outfit. She is so 4.
The funny (and sort of devastating) thing is that Hope was given that tutu in the ER on the night she was diagnosed. ("Your kid has leukemia, but here's a cute tutu!") If I wasn't already overflowing with emotion about returning to school, that tutu pushed me over the edge!
We are taking the transition slowly. I didn't have her medical forms filled out last week so I had to stay the whole time. But that was a bonus: I got to hang with a super cool group of 3-4 year olds and their loving and excellent teachers whose patience and wisdom reminds me of my best parenting moments (but they do it all day long, every day, with other people's kids!), and I managed to take some pictures documenting her return to the world of children.
But it was some special good news that pushed us over the edge. Dr. Gordon gave Hope the green light to go back to school - not just play outside with the kids, but actually go *inside*! One of the attendings that we really like came by to reassure me that it would be fine. He said that the real threats to Hope these days are more internal than external - though even a low-grade fever still earns us a trip to the ER for IV antibiotics (so we'd just as soon she not get sick), it's bloodstream infections that are the real potential danger and there's not much we can do to guard against that.
We got to the car and my face hurt from grinning. It occurred to me that maybe Hope hadn't been paying attention to my conversations with the doctors so I asked her if she had heard what Dr. Gordon said.
"Gordon say I go IN!"
Yup, she got it. So Monday morning she got dressed for school, I packed her lunch, and as I gathered our stuff together she added a red tutu to her "first day of school" outfit. She is so 4.
The funny (and sort of devastating) thing is that Hope was given that tutu in the ER on the night she was diagnosed. ("Your kid has leukemia, but here's a cute tutu!") If I wasn't already overflowing with emotion about returning to school, that tutu pushed me over the edge!
We are taking the transition slowly. I didn't have her medical forms filled out last week so I had to stay the whole time. But that was a bonus: I got to hang with a super cool group of 3-4 year olds and their loving and excellent teachers whose patience and wisdom reminds me of my best parenting moments (but they do it all day long, every day, with other people's kids!), and I managed to take some pictures documenting her return to the world of children.
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| First stop: Painting! |
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| Greeting her old pal Ginny |
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| On top of the world (and the beehive) |
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| "Hope, I need you!" called her new friend Signe. (It seems they both have a fondness for playing Happy Birthday.) |
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| "I want to sit next to Hope," said Joe. (True story!) |
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| Playing babies with Lola (in a toucan suit, 'cause why not?) |
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| On the ramp (We are having a hard time fitting in all our home therapy appointments with our new school schedule, but that's OK because there's so much PT and OT and speech built in to the day at Community Play School. Lucky us!) |
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| The tail end of an incredible, spontaneous group hug - on a table in the hallway. Confirming Hope's suspicions on multiple fronts that this is the right place for her! |
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| Running in the halls |
We spent Thursday at clinic getting a 4-hour immune system boosting infusion of immunoglobulin and telling tales of her triumphant return to school. Ready for next week!
It's going to a short school year, but it's going to be so sweet!
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