Day 183

Wednesday February 16, 2011

The oxycodone worked a miracle. Nina rested!!! Thank God she rested!!!!

When Nina woke up she requested to go swimming in her new swim suite. She loved her new swim suites and had bought 4 :) A girl can never have too many swim suites. For the past couple of weeks, Nina has been increasingly asking when we could go swimming in our condo pool. Each time I had to explain we would need to wait until summer and time I'd get smacked.

I had breakfast with Dan Brennan and brainstormed ways to deal with our Hospice nurse being out of commission. Poor Laura had broken her arm earlier in the week and required surgery. It seemed like such a long time ago since Dan I sat in his office trying to figure out what was wrong with Nina. We cried and hugged!

When Yvonne arrived on Monday, the first thing she did was call around town until she found an indoor heated pool. The YMCA had generously offered for us to use their pool and we had an appointment for 11:30am which made Nina very happy!!! As we got ready, Nina asked for Teddy to come too. By this time, it was 10:30 am, Yvonne had gone on a donut hole safari and Todd was upstairs. Thankfully, Larisa was able to come save the day again and hang out with Nina while I went and picked up Teddy. At first, Teddy was hesitant to come because he didn't want to leave school and be stuck with extra work :) I explained that wouldn't be the case. When he arrived home, he gave Nina the biggest hug. His enthusiasm was contagious....it just bounced off the walls!!! It made my heart sing to see Teddy be so strong and supportive....all for Nina's sake!

We had a wonderful time at the YMCA, who ended up giving us free passes. At first, Nina cried because the water was cold (not as warm as she expected) but eventually she settled down on the ramp with Todd and the two of them just sat there, in the glare of the sun, for almost an hour. Nina just seemed so comfortable, so peaceful, floating in the water, leaning up against her daddy. Teddy swam around and performed tricks. He was seriously disappointed that the YMCA has a no one under 15 rule for use of the jacuzzi. The one thing Teddy had looked forward to most was using the spa. Teddy is like his mama in that request....we both prefer spas :)

Earlier in the morning I had called our families and told them they needed to come asap, that I strongly believed Nina was slipping and that they needed to see her now. I also called Eileen and told her she needed to come earlier than planned. Originally, Eileen was planning on coming at the very end of the month. I knew Eileen would be devastated if she wasn't here before Nina fell into sedation. Within an hour of speaking to her, I got a text from Eileen telling me she was on her way to the airport. I sighed a huge breath of relief!

After a wonderful time of floating and swimming in the pool, it was lunch time and Nina requested.....Panda Express!!!!! Larisa and I went to pick up food while Todd, Yvonne and the kids relaxed at home. I could not take another bite of Panda so I snuck over to Baja Fresh.

With our tummies full, the rest of the afternoon was calm. Nina and Todd napped, while I hung out with Teddy in his room watching iCarly episodes. Around 4pm I told Teddy to put on his shoes and get ready to go to the park or beach. Teddy has been doing amazing but I don't want to take anything for granted. The last thing I want is for him to hole himself up in his room playing video games and watching tv. Of course when I suggested we go out, Teddy got super annoyed and threw a medium fussy. I ignored and pressed forward. Within seconds of arriving at Goleta Beach, he was running around with Molly having an absolute blast!!!! Also within seconds of arriving at Goleta Beach, I realized I locked the keys in the car. Thankfully I had my phone so I called Yvonne and had her bring the AAA card. Yvonne joined us at the beach. It was refreshing, almost cleansing to walk along the beach, to smell the ocean water, feel the wind race past us, smile at Molly's hair fly all over the place, and relish the happiness on Teddy's face! Each time Teddy ran past us, all I could do was smile! He is such an astounding person!!!! He is only 8 years old but he has walked through this journey with more grace and love than most adults. Teddy is destined for greatness and he already proving me right!!!!!!!

Yvonne had been under the impression that Todd had called AAA. When they didn't show up for a while I called to check on the status of the tow truck and discovered that the call hadn't been made after all!!! That meant we had to wait extra longer but Teddy didn't mind. He just ran up and down the beach like a manic puppy! It was so good for him to get that energy out!! Eventually the tow truck guy showed up and opened the car. We went to the store and picked up flank steak, Nina's request. Back home, Teddy took a warm shower while I grilled the steak. Nina was deliriously happy to eat the steak. Her swallowing was ok and because of the medications her emotional misery was under control....at least better. Bottom line, we were relieved she wasn't miserable. Misery for our honey-girl is unacceptable!!!!

Once everyone was settled after dinner, Yvonne and I met with Sharon, Crystal and Larisa. I don't want to go into details about our meeting other than it was the kind of discussion I had hoped and prayed we would never actually have to put into place!!!!!

At 11pm Eileen arrived. The brilliant Bostonian didn't bring a jacket so when I took longer to pick her up she froze! Even though we live in temperate Santa Barbara it is still winter. I hugged my ding dong friend. I was soooooo thankful to have her by my side!!!