And just like that with barely a moment to spare Daniel will be returning to school with his classmate on time, on the first day on his sophomore year. His diagnosis came the first day of summer vacation before he was to start high school and he proceeded to miss his entire first year, and lo and behold he has beat cancer and has made it back to his life in record time. Man, is he amazing. He wasn’t expected to return before 1 year after his actual transplant which was November 12th. He is at 9 months post transplant. In the past week I have come across several people that have had transplants or family members that have had transplants and none of them have recovered this fully or this fast. All of them have looked at me with terrified eyes and even pity when I have told them about Daniel starting school next week. They have asked if I am sure he is ready or if it is okay or the right time or right thing? I don’t think anyone of them had been in this good shape this soon out of transplant. Despite all of Daniel’s obstacles (and he has had and continues to have many) he is so damn great I can’t believe it. In fact the more and more I see how not good others have done and are doing the more and more terrified I am getting. Do I start waiting for the other shoe to drop now or are we done. Has our shitstorm passed and we are done and we just got overloaded on the front end and overcame? I don’t know anymore. I am riding such a high right now and so overwhelmed with jumping into life again I am not even sure where to begin. It is like opening up a door and the sun is so bright that you need to hold your hand over your eyes and take a breath before you step out the door because you are not sure what is outside the door. We are truly coming out of seclusion. We have been in some form of isolation now since last June and this will be like a true coming out all at once. Yes things are going to change . First and foremost, above all THE MASK COMES OFF, and good riddance. I know Daniel couldn’t be happier about this. Now honestly, I think if we are in some questionable places that make me nervous I am slapping that puppy on him. I think I will forever wipe down movie seats and airplane seats with bleach wipes and may always wear gloves and a mask when I fly I haven’t decided that yet. We haven’t even got to thinking about travel. My head is spinning, spinning, spinning with so many things. I know Daniel is looking forward to many food restrictions coming off but I think we will still be very conscious for a while. We are not tempting fate. We have all learned many things about best practices in healthier eating for Daniel and what is not good for him. I think several things we stopped eating should be gone from our lives forever. Fountain drinks, soft serve ice cream, all buffets are still no longer allowed no matter how much he wants them but the things that might make life a little more pleasant for Daniel will be fresh berries and salads and maybe a steak not overcooked to the point of shoe leather. I believe the fact that he will be able to go outside without a mask and play basketball in the driveway or just go for a walk with a friend and not have to be deprived of fresh air is going to make all the difference in the world. The energy he will have will be remarkable and the improvement in his attitude to not have people stare at him in his mask anymore will be like night and day. I can feel a change a comin’. It’s a new day! It’s a new dawn! It’s a new life! And I’m feeling….excited for him to grab it back.
Today we went and celebrated a friend we have met along our way this year. She has been strong enough to overcome her bumpy road not once but twice. When a slideshow played along with songs highlighting her bravery and strength I barely kept it together…okay I didn’t keep it together at all. This was her LAST DAY OF CHEMO celebration. I can only imagine the day we will say we have conquered. We have had so many milestones but I guess that our 1 year mark will be our time. It was a beautiful party to celebrate life. After that Daniel went for another last minute celebration to a friend’s birthday party. He had a great time going for dinner and ice cream and I was completely freaked out about what he was eating and what he was doing and if he was making good choices. Now that he is going to be emerging back into the outside world I need to start figuring out how to let go. It is like Kindergarten all over again.
And just like that with barely a moment to spare Daniel will be returning to school with his classmate on time, on the first day on his sophomore year. His diagnosis came the first day of summer vacation before he was to start high school and he proceeded to miss his entire first year, and lo and behold he has beat cancer and has made it back to his life in record time. Man, is he amazing. He wasn’t expected to return before 1 year after his actual transplant which was November 12th. He is at 9 months post transplant. In the past week I have come across several people that have had transplants or family members that have had transplants and none of them have recovered this fully or this fast. All of them have looked at me with terrified eyes and even pity when I have told them about Daniel starting school next week. They have asked if I am sure he is ready or if it is okay or the right time or right thing? I don’t think anyone of them had been in this good shape this soon out of transplant. Despite all of Daniel’s obstacles (and he has had and continues to have many) he is so damn great I can’t believe it. In fact the more and more I see how not good others have done and are doing the more and more terrified I am getting. Do I start waiting for the other shoe to drop now or are we done. Has our shitstorm passed and we are done and we just got overloaded on the front end and overcame? I don’t know anymore. I am riding such a high right now and so overwhelmed with jumping into life again I am not even sure where to begin. It is like opening up a door and the sun is so bright that you need to hold your hand over your eyes and take a breath before you step out the door because you are not sure what is outside the door. We are truly coming out of seclusion. We have been in some form of isolation now since last June and this will be like a true coming out all at once. Yes things are going to change . First and foremost, above all THE MASK COMES OFF, and good riddance. I know Daniel couldn’t be happier about this. Now honestly, I think if we are in some questionable places that make me nervous I am slapping that puppy on him. I think I will forever wipe down movie seats and airplane seats with bleach wipes and may always wear gloves and a mask when I fly I haven’t decided that yet. We haven’t even got to thinking about travel. My head is spinning, spinning, spinning with so many things. I know Daniel is looking forward to many food restrictions coming off but I think we will still be very conscious for a while. We are not tempting fate. We have all learned many things about best practices in healthier eating for Daniel and what is not good for him. I think several things we stopped eating should be gone from our lives forever. Fountain drinks, soft serve ice cream, all buffets are still no longer allowed no matter how much he wants them but the things that might make life a little more pleasant for Daniel will be fresh berries and salads and maybe a steak not overcooked to the point of shoe leather. I believe the fact that he will be able to go outside without a mask and play basketball in the driveway or just go for a walk with a friend and not have to be deprived of fresh air is going to make all the difference in the world. The energy he will have will be remarkable and the improvement in his attitude to not have people stare at him in his mask anymore will be like night and day. I can feel a change a comin’. It’s a new day! It’s a new dawn! It’s a new life! And I’m feeling….excited for him to grab it back.
1 Comment
Anna Mallinson
8/17/2015 02:45:57 pm
Amazing to see you all yesterday - I did wonder if you'd be there Nadine, but didn't expect to see Daniel (thought he might wear a Green Bay shirt!!) but, Wow what an amazing milestone - to be able to start school again? And I don't blame you about bleaching airline seats - we should all be doing that! Hope you all have a great school year!!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
July 2016
CategoriesAuthorNadine |