Day Negative 9: Guitars, Vacuums and Pain

Well, today was not a good day. The pain set in from the central line surgery and Ezra was inconsolable for much of the day, despite the use of a good amount of pain medication. We are hoping for a better day tomorrow before the side effects of the chemo set in.

Despite that, we had two good distractions. First, Musicians on Call stopped by with their guitars and we jammed to Puff the Magic Dragon and some Music for Aardvarks songs. Nothing makes Ezra happier than holding a guitar. The musicians told us that they were blown away by his guitar skills. Only problem is that he loves it so much that he didn't want to give back the guitar...he is still a 3 year old. Another thing Ezra loves is vacuum cleaners. Mommy and Daddy gave him a vacuum cleaner for taking his oral meds and it got him out of bed and walking around. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that it really has suction power and it's picking up plenty of dirt off the floor. Swifter Wetjet is now being bought to keep up with our crazy germaphobic standards.

Day Negative 10

Admission day went as well as could be expected. Ezra had surgery to insert his central line and he did great. He is happy knowing that he no longer needs to get boo-boos or wear arm boards. He even helped the nurse draw his first bloodwork from the line. Kind of odd, but he liked it. We are starting to settle into the room. Ezra spent the day playing with every piece of medical equipment he could get his hands on and he calls himself "Dr. Ezra." The doctors and nurses are really amused by this - us, not so much. The first day of admission is considered day negative 10 and you count up until transplant day, which is day zero, and then you continue to count up the days. His first dose of chemotherapy to take down his immune system and make room for his new cells will be administered tomorrow at 6:00 AM. Many of you have been kind enough to ask for a mailing address. It is: The Ronald McDonald House of New York C/o Ezra Fineman Room No. 707 405 East 73rd St New York, New York 10021 Thanks for all the messages of support - they mean so much to us!