Happy Birthday, Kevin

Happy Birthday, Kevin!

He worked a long day today of phone and computer conferencing. The conferencing arrangments seem to work well. Although I did notice he likes to pace while he talks on the phone and he has to adjust that tendency to the confines of the infusion pump and tubing.

He's not asleep yet. And he didn't take the afternoon nap we had planned for him. He was playing .

He has a new toy for his birthday.

I wanted him to have a fantastic gift. Something great. Something to distract him a little through the coming months.

I managed to get one of the new apple iTouch things for him. They're not even in stores yet. I don't really know anything about it other than that it's the latest and greatest in electronic gadgetry.

Kev loves electronic gadgetry.

So he's propped up in bed, infusion pump beside him, reading the online manual and programming his iTouch. And eating chocolate covered raspberry jellies.

The side effects of chemotherapy haven't shown up too much. Some annoyances but nothing devastating. It would be nice if things would stay this way.

He has an ongoing headache and some stuffiness. Last night he talked until the wee hours of the morning. Chatted off and on all night, almost non-stop until 3 AM. I think that's from the Decadron they gave him before the infusion to help minimize allergic reactions and nausea. Wires him. He dropped off to a sound sleep about 5 AM, just before I had to get up and start my work day.

He hasn't vomited or even really felt like he would. A little nauseous feeling but able to work through it. He is less hungry but ate the mid-morning and afternoon snacks I prepared to help ward off the nausea that might set in on an empty stomach. He has one small area in his mouth that has developed the cold sensitivity caused by Oxaliplatin.

The infusion pump is an annoyance. A constant reminder of what's going on in his body and a tiring weight to carry non-stop. He is still adjusting it to see what feels least intrusive. We both were nervous last night about getting tangled in the IV tubing while sleeping.

Haylee greeted him this morning with "Daddy Kevin! I love your new purse. It's BEE-YUU-TEE-FUL!"

Haylee got an extra cookie today for the smile she brought to Kevin's face! Haylee's mom scored extra points when she arrived to pick up Haylee and had a sack of Kevin's favorite candy in hand. She drove all the way downtown to McCord's to get it for him.

Today was a good day. He was able to forget about cancer for a little bit and just enjoy his day.