Daily Adjustments

Well, we have a new addition to our front lawn: a wheelchair ramp!  Several very kind guys from town gave up their Saturday to allow Ramsy easier access to and from the house.  They brought a backhoe, Cat, trucks, and dug out our silly sidewalk (those of you who haven't been here will not have been subjected to our irregular front walk, but we had always wanted to take it out!) and put in a really nice wood ramp.  Even my spaghetti arms should be able to push the wheelchair up the gentle slope.  Thanks, worker guys!

As I may have said before, Ramsy's symptoms really vary from day to day.  One day his speech may flow really easily, and the next day he will struggle to find the right words; yesterday he could only manage walking from car to house with support, and today he could walk well enough to make his way alone (carefully!) down the stairs so he could talk to the workers in the front yard.  We never know how a day will be, so each day we make little adjustments in our plans and expectations. 

We are now about halfway through the radiation treatments, and the doctors say that the symptoms may settle out now.  We are noticing that Ramsy seems to have more stamina and doesn't require quite so many naps some days.  Our doctor was surprised yesterday that Ramsy still had all his hair; well, he doesn't anymore!  In the evening we noticed it falling out at the treatment sites, so we got out the razor and played barber.  Ramsy now has his dream haircut: a 50s pseudo-military look.  If only I would let him grow a beard, he would be completely happy.

Many of you have asked about our kids.  I think the best way to describe them is that they are doing as expected, which is quite well most of the time, with moments (or evenings, or days) where the difficult feelings break through.  We have really tried to let them know that it's ok for their feelings to go up and down, and to feel happy sometimes and sad or angry other times.  That's just how it is.  We are thankful for trusted adult friends that they can confide in when they don't want to share their feelings with us.