Sophie's World

10:45 AM (Randall posting): I spoke with Susan just a couple of minutes ago. They had a good night last night, and even got to sleep in a little this morning. Elisabeth and I had a good night at home, although it's never the same when we're not all together as a family.

Sophie seems to be doing very well, although they will be running some tests on her today to check her blood sugar levels (the likely explanation for her state of lethargy yesterday). These tests will require fasting and blood sugar checks every two hours. So, the upshot is that whether or not Sophie comes home from the hospital today, it will be a long, long day. She is no longer hooked up to an IV, which is nice, and, as was the case the last time she was in the hospital, she is probably the healthiest kid on the floor.

Situations like this highlight what I've been trying to explain to folks for some while. Although we are all doing quite well, there is the constant, underlying sense of unease, a waiting for the next shoe to drop (other cancer patients and cancer survivors I have talked to instantly know what I'm talking about). Incidents that in other kids would not be much cause for alarm (or a 911 call, or a trip to the emergency room, or a trip to Children's Hospital) are, in our case, a cause for alarm (and a 911 call, and a trip to the emergency room, and a trip to UNC Children's Hospital). I have to admit that I am envious of other family's carefree lifestyle, particularly in the summertime. We are stumbling our way through this treatment, and are looking forward to the day when we, too, can live a carefree lifestyle.

An update on the Emergency Room situation. Dr. Gold agreed with me yesterday that unless Sophie is critical and in need of care immediately, we should just haul her up to Chapel Hill. The alternative is the minimum 5-6 hour wait at Betsy Johnson here in Dunn, followed by a trip up to Chapel Hill. Of course, if Sophie were critical, I wouldn't feel any more confident taking her to Betsy Johnson, but at least for these more or less "routine" trips to the ER (who ever thought we'd use the word "routine" and ER in the same sentence?), we've got a solution that will hopefully work better.

Thanks for all your support and prayers and words of encouragement. During trying times like these, it's good to know that there is a world of people out there pulling for us!