Phincoming Part 2 (Aka: Close Encounters of the Phlu Kind)

Phin is home! Well, kind of.

Dr. P. found Phinny in the hall  before his discharge
because she was having a hard day and "needed a hug."

On Wednesday, the doctors gave us the go-ahead to bring Phin home on Thursday! His counts had recovered enough to bring him safely home. By Wednesday night, directly following the graduation ceremony for my beloved SVA students, I had received word that at least three of Avonlie's (our oldest daughter) circle of friends at school had now tested positive for Influenza A. Standing outside of the church where the graduation ceremony had been held, in the midst of rejoicing students in their white caps and gowns and parents snapping photos, I googled the closest, most well-reviewed Urgent Care and rushed all three of us Michael Family women to it for an immediate flu test. (If you ever find yourself in need of an Urgent Care in downtown Savannah, it's the one at 818 Abercorn you want to find your way to. They were tops!)

Despite being negative when we tested (probably too soon because she started coughing the second we left the Urgent Care), it became clear by Thursday morning that Av had all the symptoms: low-grade fever, stomachache, headache, cough, misery. So, we did what any other CK (cancer kid--I'm learning the lingo here still) parents would do and asked his doctors to keep Phin one more night while we figured out if any of the rest of us had the flu or symptoms of it, where we could safely take him and, most importantly, whether one of us had inadvertently carried the flu to Phin.

Living la vida flu life

By Friday--after almost 24 hours of constant anxiety and stress pulsing through my veins, inciting my watch to suggest several times that maybe I needed to take some deep breaths because my blood pressure was "higher than usual"--, Phin had also tested negative, none of the rest of us had symptoms and Av had successfully been confined to her room for 24 hours where she remains even now (Saturday morning fever-free, so fingers crossed we are near the end).

So, Phin came home--to Hilton Head where my parents (who are currently visiting my sister and her family in Fla.) live. My parents bought a home on the island in 1997 and fully retired there years later. Their home has been a spiritual sanctuary for me my whole life--a place to escape, near enough to the beach to hear and smell the ocean and walk a path to its sands--but right now it's providing a literal sanctuary for Phin and Dustin where he can be free to run around and play without fear for his health. We are blessed to have this option. I have spent a lot of time wondering what we would do if we didn't: leave him in the hospital? Take him to a hotel? I cannot help but see these small blessings all around us: Av's flu presenting before we brought Phin home; my parents living close enough to provide safe haven while I fumigate Av and the House of Flu; having friends who will drive to the hospital to pick me up at a moment's notice (love you, Bev!); having a husband who has proven he can do anything--flush lines, spend weeks in the hospital on end, convince our son to take his gross-tasting oral medication and keep an infinitely active almost-five year old entertained with creature adventures everywhere they go.

Phin's first and last day of school. 

Thus marks the conclusion of Phin's second round of chemotherapy and the start of a much-needed break from the hospital to enjoy his last few days as a four-year-old. Phight on, Phin!