Dinner out

Tom called. He needs his phone charger. Do I want to drive up to the hospital, bring the charger and go out to dinner? I should say sneak out to dinner. Tom wants to go to the Chart House. It is just down the road from the hospital, and the only close restaurant. It also serves wine.

I bring Trevor so he can entertain Riley while we are away. We aren't really supposed to leave the hospital grounds with Trevor in the room, but the boys have our number and sometimes Mommy and Daddy just need their time together.

Riley walks down to the hall pulling his coat rack, to the movie closet, to get the extended version of Lord of the Rings. He swings by the nurses station to return the cabinet key. I know once the movie is in they wont have a problem and we can skip out. I can tell Riley is enjoying all this TV freedom. When Trevor and I approached the room I could hear Riley's laughter. He was watching Austin Powers. He wont have all these cool movies at home.

On the table is a PB and J sandwich in a bag. The crusts have been cut off. I ask if Grandma made it. Riley says yes, picks it up and starts chomping on it. Grandma knows just how to make Riley's sandwich, not like the hospital food. I am grateful to Grandma, even though I chuckle over her cutting off the crusts. The hospital has few meals Riley has liked. I stick to ordering him oatmeal with maple syrup and brown sugar, or french toast. He has gotten tired of cheese burgers. Grandma is a fantastic cook and has always known how to get the picky eater to eat.
I feel bad about Riley being so difficult for her the other day.

Tom and I have both had our oopses this week, when I tried to stay home Sunday night to sleep and Riley called at midnight vomiting on the phone, and Tom trying to sneak away before the meds had been taken the other morning. That must have been very trying for my mom having to witness Riley's melt down. She has a hard time being tough with the grand children. They know how to walk all over her. Nice thing about being a grandma is you get to give the brats back to their parents.

I do need to get the dog back. Grandma still has Bucky. I fear she will try and make a swap, and give us her dog instead. No, her dog would never let that happen.

A month ago, it was my birthday. Mom and Dad took me to The Chart House for dinner. This place is old old Portland. Mom had received a gift certificate to the place a while back and never used it. I was thrilled she wanted to spend it on me and my birthday. The Chart House has been around for years. My Grandmother would take us there when we were little. Its of the era of Henry Thieli's, and Yaw's Burgers on the East side. These places were restaurants that my parents went to as children.

We had a lovely birthday lunch. The menus had been customized. At the top they say Happy Birthday Stephanie. I felt incredibly special. Mom and Dad say its not like it used to be, but I am loving it. The Chart House has the look and smell of old money. Valet at the door and glittering views out the window. The other restaurant near the hospital was The Carnival. It has been bulldozed, and is just a big gravel strip now, just down from the hospital. I was truly sad to see it gone. I loved those gigantic milk shakes and choices of desserts, and the smell of cooking hamburgers. We could go there more often since it was just a burger joint kind of place, not too expensive.

All that is left near the hospital is The Chart House, with its expensive menu and incredible vista views. So Tom and I steal away for a moment of "us" time. We don't have reservations, but we get a window table anyway. The place is moderately crowded. Its after 7:30 pm. Tom takes a seat facing the door, which I find funny with the view to his side. He always likes to see who is coming in, no surprises. I do that when he is not with me now.

We order glasses of wine and enjoy the sparkling lights of the city. The Willamette river is invisible in the dark, but we know its there by the lack of lights. We toast. We talk about Riley.

Tom Tells me that he had the doctor look him right in the eye when the doctor told him that there is a good candidate for bone marrow on the list. We are lucky. If this treatment doesn't work we have a good donor. This is what I told my sister also. The problem is, though bone marrow is a cure with a 90% success rate, it has a 70% survival rate after surgery. "What
doesn't kill you, cures you". We would know within 3 months if Riley accepts or rejects the bone marrow. He either lives or dies. This is why we hesitate to do it. That is a C grade. Being young gives Riley a little better chance, maybe a B.

For me a B or C is not good enough. We hope this treatment works. He could relapse later under this regime, but later is a long way off. Modern medicine changes and discoveries are made. 5 years from now or 10 , there may be a medicine that cures Aplastic Anemia, if we can buy ourselves the time. Its the whole blood transfusion that causes the glitches. The longer he needs transfusions the worse his statistical survival rate is. His body will reject more easily. Do we do it now or run a greater risk waiting? It's all about time.

So, we are excited Riley gets to come home, Sunday. We are less stressed about each day. The routine is setting in. The deer in the headlights is gone. Riley poked his dad and the nurse with a saline needle. Tonight he pokes himself, then he gets to poke me as a reward. I am on duty tonight for sleep over, so I can get that bed time shot.

A friend, who is also a pharmacist, sent me a note recommending we let our regular pharmacy know what meds Riley will be on. Some of this exotic stuff is not kept in stock. So the pharmacy may need a heads up. Its all about who you know, what you know, and sharing that information. That was a huge tip.


Tom sent me another bed time text last night, from the hospital. Something about missed opportunity in the parking lot. I told him to hold the thought. Our life took a little detour, but with any luck we'll find our way back on the scenic route. I am looking forward to Sunday.