Viva la Vida

We all know I love famous people.  It's pathetic.  I get a kick out of meeting anyone... from reality TV has-beens to Oscar winning movie stars.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I would trade a sit-down meal with any and every famous person of my choice for a healthy 100% cancer-free son (in a heartbeat), but I try to "look on the bright side" of this situation and meeting a few famous folks makes this process a little easier.  Okay, and maybe even fun.  And sometimes thrilling.

So, when I heard we missed Chris Martin from Coldplay last week, I was bummed!  And he didn't just shake hands.  He sang for the children!  He played keyboard alongside older kids!  He gave each patient a goody bag with an Ipod and other fun stuff.  And he gave every parent... front row tickets to see Coldplay in concert! 

Sigh. 

It's cool.  I have Coldplay on my ipod.  I've seen them before in concert.  I can always watch the show on Youtube.  And this isn't about me.  Ari wouldn't have appreciated the visit anyway.  At the end of the day, we were much happier meeting Wally the Green Monster (especially since we thought it was Cookie Monster) than Gwyneth's talented hubbie.

And by "we", I obviously mean "he".
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Update:

Today ended a 5-day chemo course.  Thank goodness we chose to do this easy-peasy week as an out-patient.  Here are some of the highlights of the week:

Ari and Daddy snoozed:

Schmoozed:

Screw-ed:

Boozed:

And watched the Red Sox lose (from John Henry's box!):

It was a fun few days through and through(s).

We spent a few short hours each weekday morning at the Dana Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic and then we made a cameo on our old floor at Children's Hospital yesterday and today. I know this may sound crazy, but it was a great week! Ari had a blast at the clinic (so did we). Wednesday was Happy Birthday Everyone day (cake, ice cream, and presents for all... even the parents), Thursday was ice cream sandwich and Red Sox day, and Friday we got to "make your own pizza" and meet Senator Scott Brown. The only time we heard Ari complain was when we made him leave.   No joke.  And this weekend, Ari was thrilled to be back in the hospital, flirting with the nurses and playing with the toys. 

We have 2 days off before starting the next round of treatment on Wednesday (all outpatient and this time chemo is administered at our home so we don't have to go in to the clinic.  What will we do all day?!  Who won't we meet?  What fun activities will we miss?  Do you think we can ask to get the chemo there?). 

Ari has been feeling great and his counts are high so he is enjoying play dates and outdoors outings (shhh don't tell anyone but we did go to Target yesterday...we washed hands well afterwards).  Now that he's no longer port-accessed, he can go swimming and take a real bath. 

Side effects and low counts are inevitable as the chemo begins to work its mojo and we expect a not-so-fun next two weeks because of the double dose of meds.  But who knows... this kid is truly incredible and doesn't let much get him down. 

Oh my goodness and how did I forget... Ari slept 12 hours straight the last two nights!  Hurray! 

(I bet I would have slept well if I had met Chris Martin and gone to the Coldplay concert.)