Panama – Day 5

We are in the clear.  Emma made it through the second treatment with no side effects.  She stayed in the clinic for two hours after the procedure was over to ensure she didn’t develop any complications.  Our biggest challenge was not worrying about her reaction to the procedure, but in keeping her occupied since she was feeling so terrific she wanted to:  swim, go back to the mall, ride on the carousel, find a water slide, go bowling, all of the above.

Emma waiting to have the stem cell treatment.

Emma awake.

I took this photo and Emma said, “Now go back to sleep.”   Then she closed her eyes.

I asked Richard how he was feeling, now that we were through the second round of stem cell treatments.

“It’s strangely anti-climactic and I’m tired.  It’s not as though I was expecting her to begin quoting Shakespeare, but there’s a kind of post-partum depression feeling.”  He stopped talking for a second then said, “Do you feel it too?”

“Yes, very much so.  I feel as though I’ve been given a sedative.”

“And now we wait,” he said.

“Right.”  I said.   “We wait and try to stay in the present.  I think that’s the hardest part in a way, trying not to think about the future with a lot of fantasies and projections.”

A couple of noteworthy things…  Emma’s recent interest in Muzzy, her green stuffed monster is a positive sign.  She brought Muzzy into the operating room both times and used him to express some of her fears and anxiety.  She has insisted on taking him out with her whenever we’ve gone anywhere during this trip.   In addition to her growing affection for Muzzy is the more elaborate pretend play she is engaging in with more frequency.   She has not wet the bed for 18 nights, even has gotten up in the middle of the night to pee on her own without prompting.  Since we’ve been in Panama Emma has been sleeping in her own bed.  All of these things are positive signs!