December 2, 2011

Yesterday SD was asking for pie (one of the only foods he has asked for by name since being here :) ). He seemed to especially enjoy pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but there is no pumpkin pie in the hospital. This morning, the nurse who had checked on the pie for him brought in a dozen mini pumpkin pies that she had made last night. The staff here is just incredible! Unfortunately, SD has not wanted to eat it yet. So Daddy helped him by eating just one. ;)

While watching "Polar Express" this morning, at the part when the train goes down into the gulch, Mandy put her arms up in the air like she was on a roller coaster. She glanced at SD, and he was looking at her with a wide smile on his face! It was the first time we've seen him smile since last Friday (one week ago). And then he smiled again a minute later! What an encouragement!

SD is starting to interact more with movies now. Since we got here, he has always just stared at the TV with a rather glum expression. Today he began to make animal noises and discuss what's going on in the movie, which is more normal. He's not up to his usual level of interactivity, but he's making progress.

The hospital had a party today for all the children, with pizza, pasta, and root bear floats. There were games and prizes, too. SD did not feel well enough to get out of bed, so the volunteers running it brought up a slice of pizza and a "pillow pet". He has not cuddled with any of his stuffed animals yet, but we are sure that day is coming.

This evening, SD received his first dose of another chemotherapy drug (he's had five different ones now, I think). Unfortunately, this new drug needs to be injected into muscle, with multiple injections at once. So SD was held down while he got two injections at the same time. Stephen was out of the room, since he doesn't handle needles well. SD shut his eyes very tightly and cried, but did not scream or thrash around. He's a brave boy!