Keeping 'Em on Their Toes

In our general attempt to keep people on their toes, Sam requested hummus from the food service.

"We don't have it. Wait, I think we have it in the dining room."

A while later, hummus arrived.

In the morning, we called and asked again. I was sure that they would say, "We don't have it." I was prepared. But actually, hummus was again procured from the food service.

And so brunch....

Today was Sam's photo shoot with Flashes of Hope. This is a really cool organization that brings professional photographers into hospitals (and probably other places) to take pictures of kids with cancer...in all their beauty. So far, we had missed all the other photo shoots, but we were here and available for this one. They set up a whole photo studio (and makeup too...Sam rejected that idea), and Sam came complete with props - his nerf swords, cape, and of course, mustache. Yep, that's right, people. We've recorded that mustache for posterity. The photographers loved him. He was such a (kosher) ham - he jumped right in and started posing, and he didn't even wait for them to tell him to do things, he tried to run the whole show! (Afterwards, they told me that he was the most spirited kid of the day...that's my Sammy.) These are just my shots from my phone, of course, the volunteer photographer had a much fancier camera. We will get prints and a CD in a few weeks....

*Note (I haven't done this much, but maybe I should!) - anyone who wants a cool project - it would be so neat to provide the Flashes of Hope Milwaukee Chapter with a whole box full of either washable or give-away-able photo props like mustaches, hats, feather boas, capes, chalkboards, what else? If you're interested in taking on a project like this, let me know and I will put you in touch with the right people in the hospital. It would be so cool if we could set them up and keep it stocked. I'm sure someone out there wants a good project, right?

And in the spirit of keeping everyone on their toes, a little sword-fighting on the way back to the HOT unit after the photos:

Medical stuff:
Sam is just rolling along with no immunity. He is eating better, though (6 Fruit by the Foot packages!?) I'm sure there will be a report of some small rising counts tomorrow, right? Today he had a low-energy day (I know, it doesn't look like it from these pictures!) and his hemoglobin was low. Near the end of the day, he started having trouble taking deep breaths. Nothing too major, a little like a small asthma attack. But he doesn't have asthma. That, combined with low hemoglobin, a little crabbiness, a slightly elevated heart rate, and a few higher-than-normal-but-not-quite-fever temperatures....all added up to a blood transfusion. Which is, of course, "normal."

And my little Bears fan didn't care so much about the game, he wanted to watch Sponge Bob. Who could blame the kid?