Today, when I encountered a pile of crumbs on the floor left by a certain chip-consuming 5-year-old, I asked whether it was really my job to clean them up. I was informed that cleaning up crumbs was "just part of life." Buck up, buttercup.
And buck up, indeed. With Thanksgiving around the corner, and the pandemic more out of control than ever, bucking up seems like just the thing. At least with the good news about the two vaccine trials this week, there is some prospect of things getting back to a semblance of normal sometime next year. Meanwhile, we all out in our little pandemic bubble and wait.
I did finally manage to connect with the coordinator of the hyperpolarized xenon study that Lemon will be a part of. They are indeed continuing with the research at least for the moment. Lemon is scheduled for their next available imaging appointment, which isn't until late January. Honestly I am glad it is a couple of months away. I would not have brought him in to campus under the current circumstances, and we can just see what the lay of the land is like closer to the time. I am fully committed to participating in as much research as we possibly can, but even I have my limits. And taking my kid to the biggest hospital in the region for a non-essential visit in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic is just a bridge too far. And yeah, those liver labs that are not exactly essential but not exactly non-essential? Yeah we'll be holding off on those, too.
Other than that, Lemon's weight seems to have stabilized at around 63-64lb, which is about 2lb below where it was when we reduced the volume of formula. If that's really where we are, then I am happy with that and we will stick to the lower amount for now. I haven't really seen an uptick in his eating yet, but maybe that will come with time. As I have said to myself every day for the past 5 years. But I am eternally optimistic.
Home school continues to go along, although even with all the masking and social distancing there have been a few coughs and runny noses already. So far, they've just caused alarm and anxiety, but all the members of the pod who have gone for tests since the school year started have been negative. It does bring home in a real way how challenging this pandemic is to manage, though, when every possible symptom _could_ be a COVID symptom, and every test result takes 3 or 4 days to come back.
I can't really comprehend that Thanksgiving is next week. We, of course, will not be going anywhere, nor will anyone be coming here. It will be a little grim, but let's think of it as a down payment on some amazing Thanksgivings to come, when we will be even more thankful to be with our friends and family again.
