The Dragon Revisited

I have a tendency to remember a place based on the feelings and vibe I had the last time I was there. This isn’t always fair, but it is the way my brain is wired. Thankfully it doesn’t always stop me from going back to a place. This is good because it gives me the opportunity to re-define a place and think of it with fonder thoughts.

Yesterday I dropped Chris off at Vanderbilt so he could have his port removed. Now that he is done with chemo, and there is no evidence of the cancer at this time, it is safe to remove it. He has had it for eleven months now.

I chose to stay close by at Dragon Park so I could be there quickly to pick him up. No one knew how long it would take and I didn’t want to come all the way home just to be here for an hour and then have to leave again.

The last time I was at Dragon Park was a mess. I had dropped Chris off to be seen by the doctor. He had only been home two days after his first post-op chemo round. It was a 5 day inpatient stay. He got so dehydrated he couldn’t pee and he could not stop throwing up. He only has one kidney now and I was fearing it would shut down if we didn’t fix things fast. We had to leave in a hurry so I had minimal supplies. The kids were hungry, Claire was screaming (she hated her car seat), and I was mega stressed. So I take the kids to a drive through. I figured we could eat at the park and I would let the kids play while I waited to find out if Chris would be admitted.

I get everyone fed, including Claire, and the kids play for awhile. Claire wakes up and I need to change her diaper. This two year old boy walks over and stares at my task. His mom comes over and tells him to leave us alone, then says, “Wait, maybe he should watch this. He is going to have a little sister in a few weeks.” Really? I am very protective of my girl’s privacy so that was unpleasant for me.

Then everyone has to go pee. We get to the bathroom and there is a maintenance man in there. He said, “I’m sorry, I just shut them off for the season about five minutes ago.”

“Are you serious??!” I ask.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Um, I have three kids here who need to pee. What am I supposed to do? Is there a bathroom close by?"

“There are some port-a-potties over there.”

Right. Love those.

“Thanks.”

Sigh

“OK, kids. Let’s do this.”

Thank God I had the stroller for Claire. I had two boys stay with her as I take each child in one at a time to the pit. Really, I would have rather had them pee on the ground if it wasn’t a public park. It would have been cleaner, fresher, and less nauseous. Since they aren’t really tall enough to use those right I have them stand at the side of the seat, up on the ledge, and then aim for the pretty blue water. My job is to give them something to hold on to that isn't infected and make sure they are balanced. They are always afraid I will drop them in. Are you kidding?? First of all, I love you, my offspring. Secondly, I don’t want to reach in to pull anything out. Ugh.

In no order as to protect their fragile little feelings, here is how it went.

I get the first boy through the whole process mostly OK. Then the second one I grab isn’t too much of a problem. On to the last wary child. He gets so scared I will cast him into the abyss that he freaks. The end result is I get to experience a stream of warm pee for a couple of seconds until he gets a grip on himself. You know, there are just no words here…

To top it off we find out they are admitting Chris and we could have just gone home all along.

At home we all take hot showers. I soap twice. Chris ends up staying in the hospital another week before it is safe for him to come home.

Yesterday was so much better. While I get a bit nervous for any procedure done on him, it was the first positive procedure. It was the first thing they did that indicated he was on the road to a cure.

The day was beautiful. I had packed us a healthy lunch. We knew Chris was coming home. I forgot the stroller! I was a bit miffed at that, but… the bathrooms were open!