Wednesday, May 14, 2008

And the Oscar goes to.......

Last night we were watching a movie; Martha, Adam, Camille and myself. Out of no where Camille starts retching. She's coughing, making choking sounds. Sounds like she's gagging. She says she is going to throw up. Initially Martha and I were both rattled. Maybe she had swallowed a puzzle piece or a lego. We took her to the bathroom and stood by her at the sink. She continue to make a lot of retching sounds. But she is also looking at herself in the mirror. And she is not throwing up and does not appear to be in any pain. That was when Martha and I realized we were in the midst of a class A performance. Meryl Streep would have been proud. Camille went on that she wasn't sure if she could go to school tomorrow and oh by the way could she sleep with us tonight. Very clever indeed.

Martha and I realized that we should be on the look out for a little acting out on Camille's part. We have tried very hard to show her love and attention, but inevitably Adam is getting most of that right now. I thought though that Camille's behavioral attention seeking would be a little more subtle and not the full blown thespian put on of last night. It was hilarious and we had to muffle our guffaws. This morning Camille continued that she wasn't' sure if she should go to school and maybe she should take the square bucket in case she threw up. Martha assured her that she was OK and told her how much we loved that she was healthy and happy. We'll see what the next act brings.

We met with Dr. Tenenholtz today and, just like our first visit, he was very communicative and positive while at the same time laying out the possible side effects of radiation therapy. Short term effects include dry eye, hair loss around the eye--lash and brow, skin irritation, sun sensitivity and possibly but unlikely a lacerated cornea (from a malformed eye lash). Long term effects include permanent dry eye, sun sensitivity, cataracts, and soft muscle tumors around the eye. Dr. T emphasized that the worst of these side effects are rare but still need to be taken into consideration. Adam also got another CT scan and had a fitting for the mask he will wear when getting the treatments. The radiation therapist said he was her best patient! Radiation starts at the end of June after he gets back from Camp Horizon.

Tomorrow Adam goes back for his third inpatient chemo. Aargh. Just keep repeating, chemo is our friend, chemo is our friend......

2 comments:

Carson said...

yep, just so you know, girls are different than boys. Cecile has had the Sunday night Monday morning stomache bug thing going for awhile (shall we say decades)now. Rolaids and/or Maalox are often miracle drugs with a nice chalky ambiance. Congrats to Camille on her Oscar. Carson

Nan said...

I sat behind you today watching as you furiously answered an endless string of tedious emails, wishing that I had the meditation book that I had read from this morning to read to you...so here it is...

Calmness is constructive of good. Agitation is destructive of good. I will not rush into action. I will first "be still and know that He is God." Then I will act only as God directs me through my conscience. Only trust, perfect trust in God can keep me calm when all around me are agitated. Calmness is trust in action. I will seek all things which can help me cultivate calmness. To attain material things, the world learns to attain speed. To attain spiritual things, I have to learn to attain a state of calm.
from..Twenty-Four Hours a Day.

I wish for you and your family a calm and peaceful weekend.