October 16, 2005

“Fall Break” for Rosie’s school so we planned to all go to CA. Brad was ill and stayed home. Jerry, P.J and Rosie flew out to CA with a kind AZ pilot father and son.

Rosie and Jerry got their first look at Charlie after transplant. Jerry was surprised/shocked at how puffy Charlie’s cheeks were but Linda reminded us about the Prednisone medicine Charlie is taking. It makes him have a big appetite and puffy face and tummy. He eats a lot now! Charlie and Linda both have physical therapy- usually on different days so they have almost daily trips to the hospital. Linda’s is for recovery from the auto accident in August. We do “PT” with Charlie at the Ronald McDonald House. He kicks and throws balls and walks. He likes to walk up the stairs and then ride the elevator down – and vice versa. We can see his stamina grow daily. He wants to run but it is still an awkward shuffle.
We spent a lot of time at the Ronald McDonald House. We felt more a part of the community as we spent more time with children of families from around the world with various ailments. There are communal birthday parties, guitar sing-alongs, playroom time, guest entertainers, etc. So many beautiful children with leukemia, eye ailments, “deformities”, etc. We see the other AZ families more often. Now Charlie is doing very well and we look forward to coming home soon. So much change in our outlook in such a short time! It is hard to believe it has been 5 weeks from Charlie’s transplant!