Roland Update

Roland did great on Wednesday. He was confident and brave, and wonderfully inquisitive about the whole process. Prep isn't a place for cameras, but I wish you could have seen his sleepy smile, blue eyes peaking out from under his green blanket, answering all the doctors questions. Through it all, tucked between his hospital gown and green blanket was "Trucks Roll". I wish I could have snapped shots of all the places this library book has been through this ordeal. Mostly, clutched to Roland's chest.

Quick back story, Roland found a .5 inch square photo of this book in a teacher's enrichment guide, and hasn't stopped asking for it for the last few weeks. I luckily tracked down a copy at the library, and then, when it wasn't on the shelf, convinced this little old librarian to abandon her desk and scourer the unknowns of the library to find it. Success. So when I handed it to him in the car Tuesday night, it was like one of us being handed the winning lottery ticket.


Roland's surgery was a success. He struggles with coming out anesthesia, big time, but we were spared some of the struggles of last time. As a mom, you can handle anything, even a mean toddler right hook, but when Roland begged me to 'kiss it' and pointed into his mouth, my heart shattered. But enough of that, I got to hold him for a couple hours in the recovery bed, and when he finally woke up, he asked for..."Trucks Roll". Everything was going to be OK.

One thing that I'm savoring about this time is how much Roland wants to be in my arms. I'm a human pillow, and I love it. I'm amazed at how much you can feel from your child when you're holding them.

"Trucks Roll" has been read about a three dozen times. It is his drink tray, sleeps under the bed, rests beside him on the couch.

Giving him medicine is a nightmare, just like they said it would be. Actually, it's worse than that, but it's necessary. I don't like his new voice. It's...softer and higher...and just sounds strange. However, I can no longer tell when he's sleeping. He sleeps that quiet. It's amazing. I think I kept my hand on his chest all night just to know he was breathing.

And he's drinking! Lots of water and milkshakes - I'm becoming an expert milkshake maker. The grocery run I took was the worst run of my life. It was embarrassing. I got as organic and healthy as I possibly could, but still, the sugar! The sweets! We'll be on veggie overload once we get through this!

-- Update --

He's had good sessions and bad sessions. We're definitely going to need to steam clean the carpet upstairs after today. Somewhere during not being able to move or speak emerged a kid who wanted to eat Cheeze-its and requested pancakes from Cracker Barrel. In his pajamas. Whatever, off we go! So far so good. He insists on administering his own medications, even through the night, but he's doing a good job. We know we're far from out of the woods - 3 out of 10+ days, but we're slowly seeing signs of improvement.

(Excuse poor grammar and unexpected transitions, we're tired.)