Well the fever is abating finally. Up and down, up and down. I’m just waiting for them to stop the antibiotic because I am almost 100% sure that all the cultures they took are negative. The antibiotic is REALLY hard on the stomach so small wonder Ruby can’t keep anything down and when medicated, her anxiety keeps her from eating. I’d feel the same. For a healthy person, I could just say, meh, we’ll just keep the water going and see how you feel tomorrow. With the spectre (and I say that because what they PUT in a feeding tube will make you shudder – hello GMO Corn crap) of the feeding tube lurking, we need to stay one step ahead of it. The more interventions..well just like with childbirth, the more interventions, the more interventions are required the manage the results of the interventions. See? I get stuck on a word. I feel like a hitched sweater.
Laura was here yesterday and help clear the results of the Vincristine that was run and other things that came up with Ruby finally woke up after 12 hours of sleep. The first big block of sleep she’d had since this round started on the 6th. Just give that a go, wake up every 1.5 – 2 hours for 7 days straight. It’s pretty intense. Needless to say, she’s perkier today and I slept (and apparently snored – though my source is unreliable as she was SOUND asleep) along with her till 11am.
Ruby told me to drink more coffee today and blow my stinky breath on the doctors to keep them out of the room.
She’s sitting here right now watching another show about the deep sea (kids show – still sort of educational) and is eating lightly steamed green beans. What she requests, she gets. What a kid, when offered non-dairy ice cream, snicky snacks that probably aren’t that good for her…or her choice…she chooses “lightly steamed, not mushy” green beans. Nice.
Well that’s my news report for the day. I’m spending lots of time at night growing visual gardens in the room, putting up stars above our beds and hanging Ruby in a hammock and gently swinging her in a loving breeze. This is my image before we shut our eyes.
The Deep Dark Woods 
I also prefer lightly steamed, not mushy green beans.
This morning Ruby, I went out snorkeling with 8 local people. 4 of them, 2 kids and 2 adults were REALLY afraid to go into the water. So we parked the boat at a small beach so everyone could walk in and get comfortable. We brought 2 baskets of fins & masks ashore and everyone sat on the rocks & sand trying all the sizes on… then they all walked backwards to the sea…. hahahaha! Oli & Michelle, I wasn’t aware of, did not want to go snorkelling but, they slowly dipped their toes into the warm ocean and squealed! They took each others hands and kept walking in. Like it was natural to them. They did not stop swimming! Hirthik, well, he went snorkeling the first time last week and was very very stubborn about never going into water deeper than him. Well, you should have seen this kid go….. and go he did…. faster than the guides! We couldn’t keep him & Oli out of the water!
Me, I had Mom Premila. She had never been in the water over her knees. She told me she was very scared. And slowly, just by reaching out to her and pulling her a bit, I pointed to the coral and she screamed -iiiiiiiii! but a happy scream you know! I showed her a dozen Christmas tree worms (find out what those are!) and this lady was in love with the ocean. We went into some deeper water (2-3metres) …. and i let go of her arm and let her swim. SHE DID IT! So for the first time ever, with her own eyes and not on the tv, she saw a fiji annenome fish, goatfish, a baby giant clam, a white & black striped damselfish (sargent majors), a starfish, parrotfish eating the coral, long-nosed butterflyfish and I spotted one baby scorpionfish (a baby one, super well camouflaged) but she didn’t see it.
Ruby, then we took the 8 to Nuku Reef (nuku means sand in fijian) smack in the middle of the Somosomo Strait and we dropped them into the water. (we were 3 guides total). They did not want to come out even after 45 minutes! It was truly beautiful! For everyone. See how one can become addicted? Premila was hanging onto a float and I was pulling her along. Her whole family stayed with her for a while then they went off on their own. I asked her how she was? She said she can’t believe how beautiful it is and it is in her backyard! She never knew.
Premila is a schoolteacher and she also told me that she felt like she was in biology class, looking at all the types & colours of fish, soft coral & hard coral.
So when everyone was back on the boat, and no one could stop talking about what they saw and they were smiling and laughing well, those are my ‘priceless’ moments. Love you Rubygirl
Oh… and you know what. Lightly steamed beans are WAY better than those mushy things!!! 🙂 🙂
Hey Ruby, Please thank your mom for all the lovely pictures. i love seeing your bright shining smile and I think you will look quite beautiful with or without your hair…hey it grows back. My sister said her hair grew in thicker and more curly . Isaac, Ella and I miss you and would love to walk on the beach with you…guess what we had for dinner tonight? Lightly steamed green beans…it is a favourite in this house!