Round 1

I'm home now, to be with Griffin. He's perfectly happy with his grandparents, but he usually has his sister around to keep him company. I'm going to have the Big Talk with him tomorrow. Although he knows a little bit, he'd like "to know more about it... when you're ready", he told me tonight. So we stayed up late, just the Bachelor Boys, snuggling on the day bed watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes and tormenting the cat. He's on Winter Break so he can sleep in tomorrow - I haven't seen him in two days, so pardon my indulgence.

Millie has yet again proven herself the World's Best Patient. But... Monday was hell. She had surgery to place her Broviac Line* and it took entirely too long for us to endure, and they forgot to call us to be there when she woke up. Jerks! Luckily the social worker found us and got us up there within minutes... but all she could do was cry and say she wanted to go home, while sitting in surgery recovery room with a bunch of other patients, machinery and bustling post-op nurses. She even refused her popsicle this time. The only bit of levity we had was when they gave her an oral medicine to "relax" her pre-anaesthesia, and she got completely loopy as we put on her hospital gown and slippers and with a mischievous grin on her face tried to "go somewhere", like a drunken friend saying "Nonsense, let's get another drink! Where's the next bar?!" Shades of Millie at 21. ;)

When we finally got our room we were sandwiched between two families (separated only by curtains), one of a very loud and fearful older girl in some sort of vague pain and one of a 4-year-old finishing up brain tumor treatment (and doing well! hopeful, indeed). We kept her distracted and got her to eat, but she threw most of it up, and this was before the chemo. Finally they administered two kinds of chemo* and an anti-nausea drug at 10pm, and she fell into enough of a stupor to allow us to read to her until she fell asleep, but not before a pretty major breakdown and more whimpers of "I want to go home..."

Laura gave me the spare key to her brother's house in the Oakland hills to go "get some sleep" since they were still in Tahoe (thanks guys!) and I managed to drop off around 2am, to wake up to an 8am text from Laura: "Bring chapstick... and COFFEE!!!" I bolted back up to Kaiser still groggy, ditched the car and scoured Piedmont Ave. for decent java, finally having to settle on Peet's chain swill (beats hospital coffee, don't get me wrong). The girls were happy to see me. Neither had slept or eaten much but somehow daddy could elicit a smile here and there. In fact I couldn't believe how positive they both seemed - real f'n troupers, I tell ya. Millie had been gaining an ever-increasing appetite as well as watching 900 million DVDs and filling an entire coloring book, finally passing out into blissful nappy slumber for the better part of three hours while Laura and I got instruction in home maintenance of the Broviac Line* including line flushing, cap changing, dressing changing, and blood sample drawing. Oh, and a daily subcutaneous injection of CGSF* to keep her immunities up. Not a job for the squeamish - makes us wish for more hospital time.

But that's not true. We can't wait to be home. We can step up to the plate and do all that's required of us. Anyone who's ever picked infant vomit out of their hair or toddler diarrhea out of the carpet can do this, right... RIGHT?

So as I went to the visitor's lounge to get Millie a milk, who should I see but our dear friend and neighbor Tricia, who had come all the way from Petaluma with gifts and company for Millie (and Laura). How very lucky we are to have such great friends! I escorted her back and the girls chatted while I ran out to a nearby Japanese restaurant, hoping against hope that they had Millie's favorite meal: Chicken Katsu and white rice with soy sauce. They did! And some nice-looking nigiri for Laura. They were so nice, setting me up with a hot towel, a beer, some green tea and a California roll while I waited. I promised a longer return visit. Millie was stoked to see me return with what she calls her "Hiro's Special". The ladies seemed content as I headed out in the rain to head home and pick up Griffin from his grandparents. We hope to spend some quality time together Wednesday.

I pick up the girls Thursday, New Year's Eve morning. With any luck we'll go home, reunite, have a nice comfort meal and all crash in our own beds hours before midnight. There's even a tiny chance we'll venture out for the annual New Year's Day OysterFest at Heart's Desire Beach. Or maybe we'll all just stay in and play Candyland and Battleship all weekend. So when you're all out toasting with the bubbly, please think of us. We wish we could be there... but not this year.

* Laura may want to post the gory details of these devices and procedures, but I don't. Sleep well.