Because our new radiation routine is not exactly fun, we try to have fun before and after the treatment.
Clare cannot eat and can only drink clear liquids each morning up until 10:00am since she needs to be sedated each day for radiation. Each morning when Clare wakes up, I try to get her to eat a popsicle or jello. What child wouldn't love a popsicle each morning? The answer is Clare. The novelty wore off very quickly. Popsicles are usually"too cold," and jello is "too wiggly." So, to distract her from thinking about french toast sticks or warm cinnamon rolls, we head outside as soon as Chris leaves for work. And then Clare and I get to work blowing bubbles.
After a solid hour of bubbles, we usually play hide and seek or play on her swingset for another hour. This allows us to get nice and sweaty/dirty before we have to come inside and get ready for our #OOTD photo shoot and head to the hospital.
Once we get into the hospital, Clare coyly strolls by the other patients and hospital guests and shows off her big bow and cute outfit. She acts like she has a huge fan base and wears her sunglasses inside. I swear she whispers "no pictures, please." We head downstairs to room 11. We are so lucky that we have our own room at the hospital. It is stocked with important medical supplies, like her favorite toy barn, a pinwheel that blinks and flashes, and her doctors kit.
Following radiation, Clare will sleep for another 30 minutes and then wake up to a bed full of snacks to choose from. You would think she would be starving and food would be the only thing on her mind. It is not. The only thing on her mind is a bumblebee. The first words out of her mouth when she wakes up are, "We can go see the bumblebee now?
In the atrium of the hospital there is a large bumblebee that Clare has become really attached to. Each day following radiation, we walk from the cancer center all the way to the other end of the hospital to go look at the bee. If she is in the mood for lunch we will eat a slice of pizza and people watch.
This is basically us:
