Kathy asked Benjamin to join her for breakfast this morning, a swim at her house, and lunch, so that they could spend some time together. He was excited to go, and I was grateful for the time and space. I had some writing to do.
I spent the entire morning writing copy for Benji’s September features. First I tackled OneBlood’s requests: 20, 100, and 300 words describing Benjamin’s story, particularly as it pertained to blood donation. The lower the word count, the more difficult the writing was. I did my best to convey his diagnosis, treatment, and our appreciation for blood donors concisely. I consulted The Binder for the first time in a long time. It was harder than I expected.
After the OneBlood pieces were edited and sent, I started answering the questions sent to me by Mommy Magazine. These were difficult also–How did your family’s journey with cancer begin?–but not constrained by word count. I poured cup after cup of coffee and wrote right up until the moment Kathy brought Benji home. It was therapeutic and cleansing. Then we hopped on our bikes with some neighbor kids for a Pokemon hunt.
Benji’s sweat is still profuse and acrid smelling. It’s something he’s learning to manage, with frequent showers and changes of clothes. His lips have grown chapped and I can only assume that with his increase in fluid loss, even with as stringent as we are on hydration, that he’s losing more fluid than he’s taking in. Time to up the water ante even more.
I made an appointment today with the only naturopath who specializes in integrative oncology in Florida. He’s located in Jacksonville Beach. We have a phone consultation next week. I’m optimistic and excited to hear what he has to say.
We received a letter from Banyan today, apologizing for not having written in a while, and saying he’s just been “so engaged in camp activities.” That’s okay, brother. That’s the whole point. We’ll see you in a week…and we can’t wait.