About 200m later he was struggling at the back of the pack. By the second lap he and another boy were walking and jogging together. They both entered the home straight some distance from the rest of the pack, but the energy expended to avoid the "wooden spoon" was more thrilling than at the other end (because of the larger gap between the winner and 2nd). It was close until the last 10m when Ben pulled away for his own little victory.
We got Gabi to school and made it to the hospital in time for Maria's appointment with the Oncologist. He openly admitted he was a little nervous seeing Maria today, but was pleasantly surprised to see that she appeared so much better than he expected. He said her blood count was "perfect" so he decided now to ramp up the chemo dose (they always start on a lower dose to see how one copes with it). Praise God! Thanks for all the prayer coverage. Maria's next chemo cycle will commence next Monday, as mentioned in the previous entry.
Afterwards we were going to meet the Social Worker. She was on her way out to a meeting so we went for a coffee and came back in time to see her. While in the Cafe, it was interesting to see that Maria still just picks up on all things going on around her. She sent me off to offer assistance to some she saw needed it. This is not the first time over the past months (and years) that you see Maria's other-centredness (Christ likeness) shining through. When we eventually saw the Social Worker, we spent some very worthwhile time with her. Another lovely person who has been put on our path. I can't recall if I've mentioned it before, but it is ironic that Maria was actually once an Oncology Social Worker at a major hospital.
After the hospital we went back to see a little more of Ben. It had warmed a little by now and the sky was blue. Upon arrival we found him with three ribbons (1 x 3rd, 2 x 4th). He couldn't exactly recall the races, but said they were for sprints (probably 70m, 100m, 200m). We got there in time to see him come second in his shot put group (if you look closely at the photo below, you can see the 'shot' in mid-air). He did not get a ribbon, which suggests that overall he missed out. We didn't care at all about the outcome, apart from seeing that he had enjoyed himself.
This afternoon Ben and Gabi got the Yo-Yos they had ordered through school. As you can see from the photo below, we even got "holsters" with them. It has been a happy but frustrating afternoon for them both, especially when their dad (who hasn't touched a Yo-Yo for nearly 30 years) could do a few tricks. It was unintentionally demoralising for them. I've now wisely chosen to take on a mentoring/coaching role only.
