Rachel and Elliott at his 2nd Birthday
Today was a bittersweet day. It was Rachel's last day and Elliott is preparing to return to school on Monday after the 4th of July weekend. Rachel has been a part of our family for close to a year now and we have been so blessed to have her. She has been to all of Elliott's clinic visits, stayed in the hospital with him during his hospitalizations, took him to physical therapy and helped him learn to walk... she has truly been amazing. Without Rachel, William and I would have not been able to continue to work and support our family. Elliott quickly adapted to being with Rachel everyday and he was comfortable with her from Day 1. I thought we might have a hard transition, but when I would head out the door to work, he would always say "bye, bye" with a big smile and I was happy knowing he was in excellent hands. We will miss her dearly, but look forward to seeing her again soon when she comes to babysit or just hang out.
Next week, Elliott will transition back to daycare. Laurel is "so proud" that little brother can finally come back to school with her. She has been asking, "Is Elliott coming to school today?" for months and now the day is almost here. There was a 4th of July parade at school today, so William, Rachel, and I went up to the school to watch the parade and then Elliott got a chance to spend some time in his new classroom and play with his classmates, many of which he was in the infant class with a year ago. William and I got a chance to meet his teachers and tell them a little bit about Elliott and his fight against cancer.
I think most people think that since he can go back to school, he is done with treatment, but he actually still has quite a ways to go....over two years of treatment left. However, most of his treatment is now oral medication we administer at home and once a month clinic visits. He is still considered immunocompromised and his immune system is much weaker than other kids his age, but it's just above the range need for us to transition him back to "normal activity" again.
We pray he has a smooth transition back to school and stays healthy. Thanks as always for your continued prayers and support!