A very quick update today - James was tentatively discharged this afternoon to outpatient status here in Boston!!! His counts were up again for 2 days in a row as far as his immune system levels, so we got approval to leave our inpatient 24/7 unit and will continue the outpatient chemo here in Boston at Dana Farber/Jimmy Fund until the oncologists deem it safe enough for him to fly home. It could be as early as *this weekend*, though we aren't holding our breath - on the contrary, we're all trying to breath slowly, more deeply than ever. We are staying in Scituate with Charlie's parents - a dynamite pair to help with this transition - at Charlie's childhood home where we started our visit back east a few weeks ago. Full circle, I guess you could say ... only not. More like a full loop de loop ... of many ahead.
Charlie rearranged things at work to be able to stay here in Boston this week as we absorb all of the medical info and ramifications of this transition and those ahead - thank you LC, RJ, BS, DH, Carole et al for helping to make that happen, as we know it is not easy. Grace actually flew home by herself as a (gulp) "unaccompanied minor" today to join Nonnie and the marvelous Momfia back in CA, rather than have to bear witness to these details and some of the more complicated maneuverings and moods that are just an inevitable part of the scene at the moment. A major emotional hurdle for me to send her off solo, my strong, brave girl with more grit than any other 8 year old I know.
On another note, it's our anniversary today - we got married 12 years ago on September 5th in Little Compton, Rhode Island, where we were all gathered when James was diagnosed during that day at the beach a few short weeks ago. It feels like a lifetime has passed since that day, and this was the best anniversary gift we could have hoped for. James is sleeping now in a real bed, gets to eat homemade soup, and got to breathe fresh ocean air this afternoon. That's the postcard for now ... and on this Labor Day with a different kind of "work" at hand than we imagined, we are teetering less on the Edge than even a few days ago. While we know we still have a marathon ahead of us, we are cautiously optimistic on all "counts" as it were. Onward and upward, and soon ... aloft!
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