Cleared for take off

Cleared for take off

Written May 8, 2012 2:19pm by Heather Dalik

Cleared for take off!  Well, not exactly take off but we are going on a trip. Today, Nancy cleared Cora to take a three hour car drive to Wisp.  We were offered the respite housing from Believe in Tomorrow at Wisp.  The house is nestled into the mountains with tons of outdoor things to do.  We will go hiking, skip rocks on rivers and take the kids to Deep Creek Lake where I spent many childhood summers camping.  We will have to take the same precautions as at home, wearing a mask and keeping the hand sanitizer nearby but the kids are thrilled to be going somewhere.  Cora keeps asking me if today is Saturday.  Jeff and I decided the kids can miss two days of school so that we can celebrate our family.  

Cora's numbers today were high but stable again.  It is likely she will need IGG (that long infusion to boost her immune system).  That is scheduled for next Wednesday morning at 8:30.  I won't know for sure until her bloodwork is complete but she was only 79 points away from infusion level 3 weeks ago.  In the past, her numbers drop a little bit each week so she will need it soon.  This is the infusion she had a reaction to in December.  The second time we had the infusion, she was given a different brand and handled it fine.  She does have flu-like symptoms for a few days afterwards so I won't make any plans for the rest of the week, through the weekend.  I am sure I will need some quiet time after four days away.  

I was marveling today at how life is sort of in fast-forward mode, with time slipping away unnoticed.  Andrew is seriously ready for summer vacation.  My friend Michele is counting the days until summer break, just for Andrew.  Just yesterday there were 48 days until vacation.  Now it is somewhere in the 20's (Need to remember to check her facebook page before Andrew gets home because he will ask me how many more days!)  Where did 28 days go?  I am getting so used to staying home with Cora that weeks slip by without me even noticing.  Funny how being on house arrest used to be so stressful, getting groceries and such but now I have it all figured out and am largely successful at planning ahead.  I suppose this is all part accepting my new normal but seriously, do you think someone could write a book about this so that I would know what to expect?

Be CORAgeous!