Demetri has made the most of the past five days.  He has been able to play, swim, celebrate the fourth with LOTS of loved ones, and... just chill at home.  However, as I sit here and type I am listening to him cry and plead with his daddy asking for more time.  "Just wait."  It is not the normal plead for more time of course, like asking for more time to play outside, one more minute in the pool, but Demetri is asking his daddy to wait before he must get his nightly shot of medicine.  He has been getting these shots for the past five days and it does not get easier.  As Demetri just said, "every night gets worse!"  It is an awful ritual that he must go through these days to boost his immune system.  Demetri says that it is the medicine that burns, not the needle so much.  I am not a part of this, I don't think that I am even capable.  So Daddy gets the job. He is so patient and gentle, yet strong for Demetri.  He even tries to make him laugh.  It doesn't work, but Daddy keeps trying.  Demetri screams in pain and sheds tears, and it is over for another day.  I feel as if I am made of jelly, his screams weaken every part of me.  And then we move on.  
Tomorrow he must go for labs.  As his nurse put it, " 99% chance of hemoglobin, 80% chance of platelets, and 50% chance of rain."  Bob is a funny nurse, and we appreciate the humor, but the reality of getting blood transfusions stinks.  Demetri is pre-medicated before all blood products because he has allergic reactions to them. We will probably be in the hospital most of the day but it is a better option than having to be admitted.  The reason we can predict transfusions tomorrow is because of his lab result from Friday.  His counts were all awfully low-transfusion low, and they continue to drop because of the chemo he just got.  This being the reason why Demetri is getting the shots, to try and help boost the immune system.  One of the doctors called these shots a "luxury drug." Ha! Demetri would definitely not call getting that shot a luxury. You would think that with such low blood counts Demetri would have been lying around sleeping all the time, but yesterday he really rose to the occasion of being all boy!  He rough housed in the pool with his buddies, he played volleyball in the backyard, he ran after the little parachute men fireworks with about 40 other kids, and he beat the pants off of Mr. Eddie in ping pong! (tee hee) Demetri also got to hang with his 'old' golfing buddy Tyler. Those two share some great memories themselves, so it  good for Demetri to have Tyler around to help him know that buddies will always be there for him, and so will the game of golf.  I admit that I was constantly thinking about his counts all day, wondering if he was going to just buckle. But not our amazing firecracker! Demetri did not let this cancer crap get a hold of him at all!  It was awesome.  I love those images in my mind that I have of yesterday seeing him be normal with all of the others.  How good life can be when surrounded by the ones that really matter, your family and friends. Uncle Arnie made his famous delicious one of a kind beer can chicken, and Uncle Pete put on another super-pyro-technic fourth of July fireworks blast off show!"-go Pete!"  It gets better every year!  And we also got to be with most our 'cancer family'.   We are a close group, all of our children having been diagnosed around the same time.  Two of the children can now call themselves survivors at the ripe old age of 8.  And I feel so proud for those two beautiful kids.  They are strong and brave, yet their whole lives will always be scarred because of childhood cancer.   But, sweet Mathew and Sierra were not present, nor was Kimberly.  It is a fact of life that hurts in ways I am unable to say.  I just know that being with these families will always be special, as it is with any family, when love and friendship and respect is the rock holding it together.

Tomorrow Papa is scheduled for the fourth chemo dose.  He is another "maravilla" (inside joke with mis tias ticas!)  Papa also was able to enjoy the day so much yesterday too.  His energy was fantastic, and his spirits lifted by so many that were happy to be with him too.  And so, we continue to live in this world of hospitals and chemotherapy, and strength and faith.