For the first time this year, we are back to a household of 4. We both got some work done this morning before hitting the road for today’s radiation and a quick meeting with Chris’ radiation oncologist. I wanted to take a few minutes while I sit in the waiting room to look back so that when we leave here we can continue to go forward.
Somehow, 2 weeks of 2019 have already gone by and it both raced by and seemed to standstill all at once. Hospital time is truly wild; hours seem to pass by as if both minutes and days.
I can’t even begin to imagine tackling these past few weeks on my own. We seem to be running around from appointments to treatment daily, and hitting the pharmacy in between. Whether it was a good day or bad day, I talked to friends and family throughout and it has both helped to talk things out and just know how much of an insane support system we have.
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law have literally shown up for us every day. Yesterday it was to put away boxes in the attic, hang posters in the basement, and make us dinner. Last week, they sat in the waiting room every day, helping to lighten the mood and keep the PMA for the whole family whenever possible. A few weeks before that they literally showed up at an appointment at Tufts — how they found that office I’ll never know. What I do know is that I couldn’t be more grateful we landed in their city when we moved back east.
When I told my mom we were headed to the ER on New Year’s Day, she must have already had a bag packed and flight booked because she was here only hours after he was admitted. Dropping her off at the airport yesterday was the hardest drop-off of all time. She was literally the best these past few weeks (and always, duh, you guys know my mom). While we were in the hospital, my parents stayed at the house to help me keep my sanity — our dogs rank in a very close second place spot behind my husband, and knowing they were comfortable at home and with my parents was the biggest comfort to me. Quietly and thoughtfully over the past few weeks my mom was here, she did laundry, ran errands, communicated with the family for updates on everything, and most importantly, found ways to take care of me so I could take care of Chris and start to get us back to a new normal version of life.
My in-laws have been here physically and mentally for everything. I can’t imagine how hard it is to not be here for everything going on and I know so many friends and family feel the same way. They have found things they knew would make Chris happy these last few weeks and it has given him many little boosts of happy along the way. Keep sending them all the PMA as often as you do to us.
Our friends have been my sanity and outlet. When things get heavy, I know the 05ers will be there with an abundance of absurdity to make me giggle in the waiting room. When I need to vent at midnight, my girlfriends have literally just sat on the phone so I could go through the full range of emotions and have texted and called and made sure we knew we would never be without them. You all are reminding us there is life outside of the hospital.
We have received countless texts, messages, cards, care packages, dinners, and donations from far and wide — we are so grateful for the kindness and generosity of everyone. It’s not helping reign in Chris’ ego much to receive so much support but it is definitely giving him a boost of positivity every time he sees a new message. ;)
Lastly, I just wanted to appreciate the incredible teams we each have at work. The PHA team has been incredibly helpful in making sure we had all our ducks in a row from a logistical place, in addition to sending all of the positive vibes and keeping us in the loop with Chris’ students and their game plan to keep things in motion. And my McB/Fullscreen team has been nothing short of incredible, making sure I could keep a focus on Chris and his treatment.
As I finish this post, Chris is halfway through his radiation therapy treatment. Looking forward to finishing this week and radiation.
Let’s do this. 💪