A Great Thanksgiving

Bill, Mason, and I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people this year. We cleaned our place; we brought in additional furniture; we even moved to a bigger place; all in an effort to make sure we accommodated everyone. Well, ok, maybe "hosted" is a little misleading. Actually, we are still at the hospital, so everyone came to us. Staramama and Pomp Pomp got the food (thanks Aunt Denise and Uncle Curt for the turkey!!!), Aunt Juli cooked the dinner and brought it to us, and Uncle Ryan was granted time off from work to come and join us. We even had enough food so that our 3 favorite nurses were able to enjoy a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner. We couldn't have asked for a better way to spend a holiday in the hospital. It almost made us forget where we were and that we've been through such a difficult time over the last several weeks. It also put things into perspective about how our lives are so intertwined with others'.

God has a way of making sure that things work out the way they are supposed to. Today was evidence of that plan. When we started the day, there were 18 patients on the floor. Then, a mass exodus started, and by the end of the day there were only 7 patients left, so many of the nurses were sent home. We were so fortunate that the 3 we have developed a relationship with over the past 6 weeks were the ones that stayed. They have been so wonderful making sure that Mason is ok, that our needs are met, and that we keep our sense of humor during this endurance race. Working over any holiday is hard for anyone. I am so thankful that the plan for us including making sure that those 3 nurses were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner when they couldn't be with their families. We poked our heads out a little bit after we brought them food and they were taking pictures of the 3 of them with their Thanksgiving dinners - perfect!

As far as Mason's health goes, today was another day on our roller coaster. Last night he went to bed at 2.5L, at 2:30 in the morning, he needed 3L, at 6:30 in the morning, he needed 4L. His labs in the morning weren't great, his lungs didn't sound great in the morning. I'm not sure what changed or why it happened, but it did. Thankfully, later in the day, he did a little bit better; his labs looked much better (chloride on its way up, potassium on its way down, kidney function improving), and his lungs sounded like he was moving air much better. I think it's just part of our roller coaster and we just need to keep riding it. Tomorrow will be another day and we'll just have to face what comes with it.

On a very positive note, the doctor who was here at the very beginning of Mason's hospitalization was covering tonight. She mentioned that she had a patient who did the monthly steroid bursts like Mason is going to do and does very well with them. Her diagnosis is different, but the intent is the same - decrease the inflammation. It was nice to hear about someone else's success with such a rare treatment.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. We are truly blessed to have such a fantastic support network. Thank you for all of your continued support, friendship, thoughts, and prayers. We could never have made it through this stuff without you!