Day 10 - Rick, Jen, Tal, Seth & Hayley Head Back to Toronto

Today is day 10, engraftment is still a long way off but the doctors are managing Lex's health issues well, her throat has been very sore - mucositis, a direct result of chemotherapy but the drugs are working and most of the time the pain is tolerable enough for her to eat soup, ice cream and the best medicine of all an Iced Aroma Light! Thank you Aroma! Her friends have not left her side since they arrived, a rotating system had to be arranged because Lex has no immune system right now and is very susceptible to infection, so only 2 at a time in her room. Dr Ashkenazi is a brilliant doctor who is also a bio-chemist. He says the most outrageous things to us, told us he prefers mice to people because they don't ask questions or, talk at all. He affectionately calls Lex monkey or turtle depending on his mood, he is a man who growls like a bear but has a heart of gold....don't tell him I said that because he'll vehemently deny it. The other day he heard that Lex had 4 guests at the same time, he stormed into her room and raged that "this isn't a train station" and kicked everyone out. I love this man.
We decided to have a shabbos dinner in the hospital, so with Rick and Elise's help we got wine, challa and candles, I made chicken soup and Elise made meatballs, we bought chicken, vegetables and rice from a hamish restaurant right across the street from our apartment, piled all the food into a bundle buggy and cabbed to the hospital. We used the lounge near Lex's room and set up our 'shabbos picnic' said the blessings, lit the candles, drank the wine. The meal we shared was one full of warmth, laughter and love, a splendid shabbos dinner with family and friends.

Jen, Tal, Seth and Hayley are leaving this weekend, having them here for the last 2 weeks was wonderful beyond words, the love and support they each provided all of us was incredible, because of them I know Lex doesn't feel so far away and neither do I. Rick also is flying home tonight, he has been a rock for Lex and I, plus his incredible technical skills were greatly appreciated, the TV in my bedroom now works, the Magic-Jack works, all our phones are properly programmed and he figured out how to get hot water in our shower too! Thank you Rick I love you and will miss you, but Dani needs you too!