Our New Normal

Here's kind of what my days have been like since finding out what needs to be done to get our son the treatment he needs for his blood cell and immunoglobulin deficiency:

6:45am - Wake him up and stare at him at length, asking him how he feels (if he's' sick, he can't get the infusion). Give him all his medicine and start the day.

8:45am - Answer a "private call" at work on my cell phone from the insurance company. They need to go over some questions, tell us about where they are in the process, talk about costs/deductibles, etc.

9:17am - Answer a "private call" again - this time from the immunologist's office. I know now that the "private call" on caller ID MUST be answered. They want to have me come in to sign a bunch of paperwork and legal consent forms so that he can be infused with other people's plasma.

11:00am - go to a meeting and feel my phone vibrate. It's my husband - I update him while's he's sneaking around the locker room with his cell phone, hoping he doesn't get caught and fired.

12:25pm - doctor's office calls again. They forget to tell me that the hospital will be calling me to set up his first treatment in the pediatric dept because he has to be in a controlled environment for his first one - in case of side effects and reactions.

1:15pm - I lean back in my chair, exhausted from all of this - plus meeting dozens of deadlines at work, attending meetings, writing ad copy and prepping calendars. My boss encourages me to go to the chiropractor and grab some lunch.

1:45pm - feeling refreshed and can move my neck again. Get an email from our son's teacher saying he's really quiet and doesn't seem to be himself today. Gee, wonder why. I start to worry and panic how he's handling it all.

4:00pm - go to the gym to try and get my mind off things for an hour - all to myself. It's heaven. Three miles and one circuit of weights later, I head home.

6:00pm - serve supper, start homework, go through the mail - make sure all the insurance claims are ok. I optimistically pray that the next piece of mail will be from some contest, granting me millions (or even thousands) of dollars. Nope.

Lose track of time....do baths, books, medicine and bed for the two little ones. Snuggle up to watch tv with Adam on the couch and wake up at midnight realizing we'd dozed off. 4:00 am comes early for him to get up and head to work...and then the day starts again.

Next Wednesday, our new normal starts when he gets his first treatment. I pray he won't spend Thanksgiving in the hospital - again. I pray - a lot - that we can all handle this and that life won't be so terrible altered that we lose track of who we are underneath the stress. Especially as the holidays and our 10th anniversary approach, I just want some bliss and cheer. I hope it's not too much to ask.