Wednesday, on the other hand, was tough. Will was scheduled for a sedated MRI and blood tests to see if his seizures were caused by something physical and if his medicine was working properly and not affecting other systems. Maggie left work early and I collected Will from school early and after meeting at home, we went to Philadelphia for our 3:00pm appointment. Both of us were hungry as we'd missed our lunches, so Maggie stayed with Will and began his intake while I dashed to the cafeteria and got us some food. When I returned, the anesthesiologist was checking Will's health and readiness for the sedation. While he had been symptom-free for the entire visit, he now coughed a couple of times, alarming the doctor and giving her cause to cancel the MRI to protect his airway. Maggie and I both feel that he would have been fine, but we could not convince her to continue. After the blood draws, we headed back to the car, stopping to call and schedule a new MRI for 12 January. We need to call the neurologist, too, and explain what happened and see if he can get an MRI under anesthesia scheduled instead so we won't have to worry if his cold lingers, which they have a tendency to do. We stopped at a new diner for dinner on the way home and only compounded our disappointment as the food wasn't very good.
Thursday was better, at least for a while. Will finally seemed to be adjusting to the anti-seizure medicine--it wreaked havoc on his stomach, causing him to vomit every morning and some evenings--as he gagged a couple of times while getting ready for school, but didn't heave. He stayed hurl-free throughout the day, too. Maggie worked late, though not as late as she expected and I got my car repaired while Will was at school and our home's water meter was replaced since the old one said we weren't using any. It would keep the bill low, but eventually I'm sure it would have come back to haunt us.
More immediately haunting, though, was Will's cold. His nose got stuffy and runny and he vomited after his dinner, so I bathed him and got him into bed. He was still rather congested and even with the humidifier on, he was waking every couple of hours. This morning, I toyed with the thought of keeping him home from school, but today was the big Christmas concert and party. His teacher had told me earlier in the week not to worry about getting him in on-time in case he was a bear and it was a good thing that she did. I showered while he slept, then got him up and got him ready, but some of his breakfast was not going to be coming with us. He arrived at school an hour late, but it was still 30 minutes before the party, so all was good.
The concert was a treat, as each of the four classes performed a tune and then everyone sang "Jingle Bells" for the finale. The small room was packed with children, teachers, aides, nurses, parents, grandparents, siblings, and a group of local high school students who volunteered to help. Post-concert, we split into two rooms to enjoy pizza, soda, and some chatting with the staff. The high school students also presented the Easter Seals students with Christmas gifts. I was heartened by their efforts and surprised by the quantity. Will was given a percussion set, a dog-shaped toy "guitar" that he liked right away, and five (!) pieces of clothing. Even more surprising was overhearing one of the students explaining that around 50 of them were involved, but only a few could attend since that's all that could fit in their 3 cars. On top of that, their trip wasn't sanctioned, so while their teachers knew about it, they simply skipped school to perform their good deed. We will write to the students with our thanks and I will volunteer to drive so more of them can attend next year. I think I might be able to find a second driver and two vans, too.
After the party, I returned home to get ready for the rest of the day. Maggie went to pre-admission testing for her foot surgery while I went to get Will. We met at Toys-R-Us and shopped for nieces and nephews, plus looked for Will, but failed to find what I wanted to get him. Will spent much of the shopping trip sleeping, as the party and his cold conspired to exhaust him. We had an early dinner at Ruby Tuesday, then got Will and Princess fed. Maggie quickly fell asleep while fighting a migraine, Princess fell asleep (but that's standard practice for her), and Will spent some time on my lap playing with his iPad apps. He began fading, so I got him ready for bed and he quickly fell asleep, too. Now it's my turn. There's a lot to accomplish before Christmas and I need to get rested!
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