Sturm und Drang

On Tuesday night, Guy and I checked Adi into the oncology ward for the start of his HR treatment. Adi had already told me that he wanted me to sleep in the hospital with him overnight, so I had my bag packed as well.

We arrived and found that we were roomed once again with Ahmed, a sweet 3-year-old from Uhm-El-Fahm. On the oncology ward, we wind up hanging out with people we might not ordinarily encounter in our ordinary lives -- much like in the world of special needs. Ahmed's mom, Iman, and I, exchanged hugs and kisses, he high-fived the kids, exchanged packs of snack food, and we got Adi settled in.

Guy stayed for a bit, and then he left, and shortly afterwards, Adi was asleep. We were scheduled for an intrathecal on Wednesday morning -- they told me 10 am -- so I knew the fasting would be hard on Adi. He likes his breakfast. In a true stroke of genius, I gave him Concerta at 3:30 am, while he was half asleep. When he woke up at 7, he wasn't hungry -- and he was calm.

He played beautifully in the hospital playroom, stayed patient when our IT was delayed over two hours, AND stayed lying down afterwards like a champ. It was AMAZING.

And then, around 5:30 pm yesterday, Adi LOST HIS SHIT.

It started small, with some kvetching and whining and devolved to full-blown crying with tears, "MOMMY DON'T GO" as Guy and I tried to switch places. Eventually, I left, feeling like a terrible mother. When I came back in the morning, Adi was still grouchy. And when Guy tried to leave, Adi became completely hysterical.

Guy left, and Adi got worse and worse. They gave him Revotril, another from of valium, and finally Haldol (p.o., not IV). After all that, he stopped screaming, but he was still awake, and even standing. It was insane. It had been five hours of nonstop screaming.

Guy arrived around 2 or so, with a giant garbage truck that Adi had been demanding for much of his tantrum. Perhaps rewarding him isn't the best strategy -- but I suspect the steroids are largely to blame for the craziness we've been experiencing. Anyway, he's on the floor with his trash cans and the truck now, and he's not screaming, so that's good.

Ahmed went home today, and our new roommates are a family from Jordan in Israel for the treatment of the giant, basketball-sized tumor growing out of their daughter's side.

I'm really tired. And I can only imagine how Adi is feeling.