Recharged for a long run

Enjoying a getaway at Tahoe with my high school friends

It has been nine months since I left our house for a getaway. Now Gohan is stable enough, I feel I can leave him with the caregiver. My caregiver also feels more confident to take care of him alone. So I called my dear friend Lisa whom I have known for 44 years since freshman year in high school. She has given me an open invitation to stay at her place at Tahoe. We set a date. Yet, various issues kept popping up, including the MRI of Gohan's left arm.  It was only until two days before the trip that I finally confirmed that I could go. I am so grateful that Lisa and the other two friends who are working accommodate my unpredictable schedule.
Tahoe is absolutely beautiful! The mountain and the water are so calming. The air smelled of aromatic pine and crispy snow. I could feel my body relaxed and recharged. However, unfortunately I was sick the third day probably due to stress. My friends took care of me while I lied in bed. It is funny that even when I had to lie in bed, I felt relaxed. It was nice to be pampered for a change. My friends joked that it is good that I got sick in Tahoe instead of at home. Thankfully, I was able to recover in six hours and enjoy the final day with my friends. The time on the road was fun too. Imagine four over-50s (Ok, near 60) women chatting away in the car.

The snow capped mountain and the pristine clear water of Tahoe are soul calming

Nonetheless, it takes a team's work in order for me to take a break. Our daughter Christina and her husband Jimmy came to stay in the house to supervise and help, including preparing meals and accompanying Gohan to Sunday service. While they were at work, my HS friend Jamie drove Gohan and our caregiver Kevin to outpatient physical therapy sessions, and also brought lunch takeout for them. Our neighbor Teri came to walk our dog Riley. Our cell group member Mitchell and his wife came to pick up Gohan to attend cell group meeting on Friday evening. Entertainment was also planned. Three friends came to play Mahjong with Gohan on weekends. So if counting the uber driver that I used for one of Gohan's trip to PT, it took a team of 11 people to give me a getaway for four days! Gohan had a good time too. I could hear the joy in his voice when we spoke over the phone, mainly because Christina and Jimmy are home. He loves having our kids home. He also joked that he was getting a break from me too. Haha. So all is good.

After I got home, our caregiver was clearly tired and left for his weekly break. I decided to try letting Gohan sleep on his own that evening to see how it goes. At 3:30 am in midnight, I was awoken by a weak voice calling for help. A few seconds later, I heard Gohan rang the caregiver bell. I ran to his room. His face twisted in pain, he was having a diarrhea and wanted to get up but couldn't. Due to the targeted therapy -  Tagrisso that he is taking, he has diarrhea often but never in midnight. He felt embarrassed and apologized for the mess. My heart hurt. I always feel heartache when he apologized for his ill condition. I told him there is no need to apologize and that we are in this together. I helped him take a shower and get changed, I then changed his bed sheets. I made electrolyte drink to help him rehydrate. By the time he went back to sleep, it was close to 5 am. Having been in a combat mode with adrenaline hight, I was already wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. So that night I only had 3 hours of sleep, like the night before I left for Tahoe. I thought to myself - vacation was good, but the reality is that he is still ill. Murphy's law seems to apply every time when my caregiver is not around to help. Nonetheless, it was good that I was recharged with the short getaway. My new energy was put to use right way. So clearly I should go for breaks more often.