Jordyn and I arrived back at Walter Reed and got settled into a new room. The next morning she began her next cycle of chemotherapy. Jordyn got sick here and there, but with this round it was not near as hard on her as the induction therapy, in Germany. Jordyn was inpatient for the first couple of days and while we were there we met a few new people, who became friends. We met, Casey and her mom, Carrie, and her Myrrhh. We became good friends with them and they really helped us through all of it. We met Morgan and her family. Morgan's dad was the President of the support group we had at Walter Reed, called Parents and Children Fighting Cancer/PCFC. We were told that PCFC would be having a camping trip in June in Pennsylvania and it was something I was looking forward to taking Jordyn to and I knew it would be a great way to get to know a lot of the other families who were going through the same thing we were going through. We also met, Jack and his mom, Margie. We became very close to them also. Currently all these children are in remission and beating this disease.
The second night we had arrived at Walter Reed we had met a mom and daughter who would become Jordyn's best friend and one of my best friends, Sarah and Kim. Sarah is only the 3rd child to beat the type of brain tumor she has. She loved playing with Jordyn. Instantly there seemed to be this beautiful bond between the two girls. Even though Sarah was 5 and Jordyn was 14 months old, they just seemed to understand each other and had so much fun together. Jordyn called her, "Sar-Sar". Kim showed me around Walter Reed and kind of showed the ropes, per say. She listened to me talk about my fears and she shared hers and told me and reassured me at how "normal" my feelings were. Kim is the one who drove Jordyn and I down to Ft. Belvoir that first weekend.
After 2 days of chemo, Jordyn was responding well and she was released to stay at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH). We were picked up by their van and taken to our "new temporary home". When we got there that night, we met Celia. Celia works the evening shift. She was kind and showed us around and I have to say I was so impressed. The house is very beautiful and large. It has 3 stories of rooms, a main floor with a sitting room, kitchen that has 2 of everything, and a large dining room. It has a newer area with a greenhouse, another sitting room, a bridge that holds the library, and in the downstairs seperate apartments for those families that need privacy, like for Bone Marrow Transplants. There are 2 apts and they share a living area and kitchen. There is a larger living area along with a game room that has excercise equipment. There is a playroom off of the main section of the house in the basement and laundry room. We spent a lot of time in the playroom. They have a tv area in the playroom, which was nice if Jordyn wanted to play on her own. There was also 2 apts off of the playroom area.
The next day, we met Barbara the house manager and Nan, who is the office manager. Barbara was kind and loving and so wonderfully giving. Sadly this past Sept. she died suddenly, and I know she is dearly missed by everyone who has ever met her. I instantly felt a kinship with Nan. She had been connected with the RMH in more than just working there, she had also stayed there with her little girl and family. Her little girl, Emily had leukemia and sadly is with Jordyn in heaven. Nan was very honest and true with her feeilngs of missing and loving Emily. I know that Emily is a very special little girl and I so wish I could have met her. Emily also was treated at Walter Reed and so Nan knew some of the same nurses that Jordyn had.
The RMH also had a beautiful outdoor area. Being in Washington, DC, I was a little nervous about being there, but when you walked outside it was so beautiful. They kept the yard just beautiful. There were many flowers everywhere, wild cats that Barbara had rescued, and a wonderful play area that Jordyn loved. Everyday that it was nice and she was not too tired, Jordyn was outside at some point during the day! She loved to run on the rocking bridge, and go down the slides. They also have a playhouse that Jordyn spent hours in! Somedays we would just walk around.
Jordyn and I would take the van over to Walter Reed. The first day we took it over, we went to the clinic, there we met the nurses, Debbie, Kim, and Julene. We met Travis who was the tech/aide. We could never have asked for better caregivers for Jordyn. Jordyn seemed to be a hit with everyone automatically. She did not know a stranger! She seemed to fall in love with them. Everyone seemed drawn to her and they always wanted to be the one who was her nurse that day! Jordyn was the child that was hooked up to chemo and laughing and giggling and ready to go and play and run! She hardly ever sat still. We grew very close to everyone that was part of the clinic. Debbie is the "everything nurse". If you had a problem she was the one to take care of it. From Tricare (military insurance) to questions on side-effects she could answer them. She was always needed and wanted and to this day I don't know how she keeps it all together. She has this wonderful infection laugh and she just loved her patients. Jordyn loved Debbie. Julene was wonderful. She was only there a couple days a week, but we just loved her. She always had a smile and a hug for us and would reassure us about anything doubts or scares we had. Kim was great. She loved to talk to us about everything and anything. She was a prankster too! She no longer works at Walter Reed, she is at NIH now, and missed.
Chad arrived in DC May 27, and our friend Michelle picked him up for me, since we did not have a car yet...on it's way from Germany and or truck was in Kansas still. Michelle told me to take the subway/metro and told me every track to get on. I was so nervous getting on it, but was relieved to find it was safe, clean,and very easy to take from the RMH station to the airport. Michelle and her son, Alex (who was a day older than Jordyn), met Jordyn and I and they met Chad! Jordyn and I were so happy to see Chad. Michelle was kind and drove us to the RMH and helped us unload the luggage and even gave us some food. Chad was happy to be in DC with us, but I think in shell shock! It was so different than Germany and Walter Reed was very different than Homburg University Clinic. The first weekend Chad was with us, it was Memorial Weekend. We had decided we should be "tourists". BIG MISTAKE! It was CRAZY down there!! People everywhere. We had been warned at the RMH not to go down there, but we didn't listen. We took the metro down to the mall and walked and walked and walked some more. We got to see a lot, but not much all at the same time. There were motorcycles EVERYWHERE! I felt like we were in South Dakota! Jordyn of course fell asleep and slept through all the roaring enginse and revs! We finally left and walked the miles to the metro and went home to the RMH. We stayed there the rest of the weekend and on Tuesday, Chad left for KS. He flew back to get the truck. He was able to spend a couple of days with my family and then headed cross country. He stopped in Ohio to see his family for a couple days and then drove the rest of the way. Of course since this was his first time driving in DC, he of course got lost, so it took him about 3 extra hours to get to the RMH! He did arrive and it made our lives much easier, not having to depend on the RMH van. Chad also reported to work. |
