You know, rather than gripe about how we’re on day 5 now and I’m still doing tons of laundry and cleanup, and that the time to disinfect the entire house is nigh… I’ll just say that sometimes all you need is a little perspective.
I went to high school with Sydney Dungan‘s mother. I have been reading the diary about Sydney’s cancer treatment for almost 2 years now. Sydney is 364 days older than Helen, and was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just before her second birthday. They are currently in New York undergoing experimental antibody treatments for what may or may not have been a relapse.
Somehow my mere five days of cleaning up vomit and diarrhea doesn’t seem so bad now.
I dressed Helen in a cute shirt and shorts this morning, fully aware that I may end up soaking them in Oxyclean later. But I know that for ME, I always feel better if I’m dressed and ready to face the world. When I was on bedrest last summer, I took a shower and did my makeup every day, even when I knew that I wasn’t going anywhere. Somehow it just made me feel better about things. Maybe Helen is the same way.
My mom is going to come in a little bit and take Alice so I can start disinfecting… With Alice’s separation anxiety, I can’t leave the room much, and I don’t want to strap her to me while I’m dealing with chemicals. So Mom’s going to take her. Helen can either follow me around or sit and watch her movies.