The months ahead
If we seem chipper and productive I think a lot is owed to focusing on a few days at a time, maybe looking as far out as two weeks. As a coping mechanism this is essential – even in the best of times it’s easy to get overwhelmed by future obligations, and right now most days it’s just too much.
Some days we do need to look further ahead, to grapple with what’s to come, lay out our options, and make sure our thinking and planning is aligned. The next several months are going to be increasingly challenging, but I’m ever thankful that we work so well together and readily come to agreement on important things.
Wesley’s induction treatment is almost complete – plus or minus a few days induction should finish around the end of the month or beginning of December. Induction is an important treatment regime, but it’s relatively light compared to the two periods to follow. The next phase will involve a lot more frequent clinic visits, and the phase after that will be even more intense including multiple, 4-5 day in-patient visits.
We don’t have an exact schedule yet, but if everything runs according to plan he’ll be done with the next two phases right before our baby #2 is born. The reality is we can’t assume everything will stay on track, so between his treatments being pushed back and the reality that babies frequently don’t arrive on their due date, we really don’t know how this’ll all play out. We’ve got a midwife and are determined to have a home birth again, but if Wes ends up hospitalized in Philadelphia those last weeks of March I can’t be in both places at once and may end up missing the birth. We’re making all the arrangements possible to make sure Stephanie has the support and nurturing she’ll need during birth, with or without me.
Even if the timing works out, and Wes is at home by the time the new baby arrives, he’s going to be requiring ever-more care at that point – the side-effects of chemo will be hitting a peak intensity, so it will be a very fraught time in our household with two very needy and very sensitive children to care for.
Right now all our spare time is spent preparing in one way or another for the road ahead. We’ll get through it and hopefully by the end of 2019 we’ll have a stable and somewhat normal family life back.
