We are at coming into the end of one full month of the maintenance phase of interferon.  It feels like it’s been a whole lot longer than just four weeks.  Honestly, it seems like it is just as hard for Kevin as the high dose phase was, with the exception that he doesn’t have to be at the hospital half a day every day.  But the one benefit there was that he was only having to work half days, so in that respect, this is harder for him.  He gives himself the shot and sleeps off the “worst” of the effects, but that is honestly such a relative term.  Pretty much all day long, everyday, he feels tired and achey.  Sometimes he has a headache, but the worst part is that he has nausea that comes out of nowhere.  It is not predictable when it will hit or for how long it will last.  The anti-nausea meds do work to some degree, especially helping to stop it after it has started, but they do not seem to prevent it.  He also struggles with constipation due to the different drugs, so it’s lot’s of colace, water, zofran or compazine, tylenol, and time in bed.  I try to cheer him up by telling him he seems like a pregnant woman on bedrest!  I remember the constipation was something NO moms warned me about ahead of time and was shocked and embarassed!  That gave him a little smile, but mostly he is feeling discouraged.  He is so sick of being sick, basically, and we don’t really know how much this will all help, so that makes it doubly hard.

But it hasn’t been all bad.  On Memorial Day, Kevin had the day off and really wanted to try to go somewhere with the kids.  We carefully chose something that didn’t seem like it would be too much for him or the kids (or me, since I was taking care of everybody!)  We went to Centennial Park and enjoyed some time by the fountains.  The kids didn’t really get in much, but they definitely enjoyed puttering around and watching the other kids.  Jude and I flew his airplane a bunch of times and we all sat around and ate lot’s of grapes and pineapple.  We lasted about an hour and a half!  But it really was perfect, and Kevin and I were both feeling pleased we’d done something approaching “normal” life.

I have also finally discovered the Atlanta Library, and we have been taking full advantage of the summer morning programs at libraries across the city.  So far we have gone to see an incredibly talented storyteller, a magic show, and a toddler storytime.  We are 2 for 3, as I had to remove my 17 month old daughter from toddler storytime for being too disruptive (she kept wanting to steal all the other kids snack cups!)  

But it wasn’t a total loss that day… I found a delightful little park called Peachtree Heights East, and it had a huge lawn and a beautiful duck pond.  We headed over there and spent the rest of our morning before heading home for lunch and naptime.  I’ve been trying to keep things simple for me and the kids while still getting us out of the house doing a little something most days.  I’m finding that I’m in a better place mentally, the kids are happier and less whiny, and amazingly, the house doesn’t get trashed everyday since we’re not IN it all day long!  I’m continuing to make sure I keep a balance to not keep us too busy or get me burned out, but so far it’s working, and it’s been a nice change of pace.

We also got a family pass to the zoo, thanks to some birthday present money for Jude.  Since Evie doesn’t take a morning nap regularly anymore, we can actually do all these morning outings, and I feel like this summer we are starting to reap some of the benefits of being right in the city.  Centennial Park, the Atlanta Zoo, and most of the libraries we’ve been to have all been within a fifteen or twenty minute drive of us or less, and so it’s made for easy, short morning outings.  We made our first zoo trip with my sister and her family, and it was such a blast!  I could tell that Jude is at just the right age to start going, and as both of my kids grow, we will be able to pop in for short visits to explore various animals or exhibits in depth.  The zoo is a little busy right now during the summer, but my friends who have passes have shared that it’s positively empty during the weekdays in the fall, winter, and spring, so we’ll definitely take advantage of it a lot then.

So basically, we are trying to keep a little busy but also keep things pretty quiet around here.  Kevin is sick a lot, and I try to be there for him as much as I am able with the kids.  Let’s just say I am building up some good quads running up and down the stairs between Kevin and the kiddos!  We have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning, so please be praying for a good report, answers to our questions, and hopefully some solutions to this continuing nausea for Kevin, which is by far the worst part of all of this.

Love to you all our good and faithful friends, your support means more than you can imagine.

-Rachel