Day Pass

Sawyer woke up this morning craving a sub from Subway (and not just your typical one - he's ready for some strange combinations thanks to the prednisone drug he's on! He even mentioned wanting to eat lobster and shrimp this morning -- and he's never wanted to even try seafood.). He asked the doctor for a pass to leave the hospital at lunchtime to walk over to the Subway a few blocks away. Yay! So glad he's ready to get out. The doctor is happy to have him go. He'll need to wear a mask until he gets outside then will be free and clear.

He's definitely looking forward to going home and being able to be on his own schedule. No one can miss being woken up 2-3 times each night and then being checked out by nurses throughout the day. Sawyer has been very patient and pleasant with all the staff and thanks them for checking up on him or helping him out. We really have no complaints but knowing that discharge is getting close makes it harder to stay!

In general, the food from the hospital is quite good. Mark and I get a meal voucher every day from the Ronald McDonald House upstairs in the hospital and can use it toward ordering off the hospital room service menu. Otherwise we eat food we've picked up at Wegmans (and can heat in the microwave in the unit's kitchen) or we eat food that's been dropped off by one of our friends or we pick up something from one of the restaurants nearby. Sawyer generally eats toast and cereal from the unit kitchen for breakfast and then asks for something from a restaurant for lunch and then orders from the hospital for dinner. He's looking forward to their Wednesday night stir-fry special tonight.

One thing we've learned while we've been here is Sawyer's blood type. A few years ago I was filling out a form for a summer camp and it asked for his blood type. I thought, no problem, I'll just check on his immunization record. No, hmm, okay then must be on his birth certificate. Ok, guess I call the doctor's office. Not there either. Apparently there was never any reason for them to determine his blood type so it was an unknown. It wasn't a problem, I left the form blank and haven't given it a second thought. But we now know his blood type is the same as mine, A+. And we learned that it's possible that it could change to A- throughout this process. But don't ask me why!

I was able to catch up with a friend this morning who was at Strong for her own appointment. She's in the middle of chemotherapy herself for breast cancer. It's been too long since I've seen her and I really enjoyed having a coffee and catching up. She shared with Sawyer her hairless head as well as the port site in her chest and talked with him about her own path through chemotherapy.

Mark went home this morning and is working today and tomorrow. I'll go to work on Friday and stay home until after the Stacks for Sawyer fundraiser on Sunday. It will give me a chance to do a little bit of cleaning in Sawyer's room before he gets home (like most teenager rooms it can stand a good overhaul!).