Wednesday, August 10th, 1977-in which Nancy experiences a crisis of confidence, we make a trip to MSTI, and Pete takes an IV in the foot.

Linda Petravsek called this morning to ask me if I would teach Sunday School.  They don't have any teacher for the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders (she said combining those grades would only produce 7 students).  I told her I didn't have any way to get there and she said if transportation were guaranteed, would I do it?  So what could I do?  I said yes.  Then she asked me if I would do it for a whole year  but I said I couldn't promise because there might be a change in Pete's condition.  There will be a preschool class he can go into while I teach.  I have some pretty severe doubts about my ability but she said the manuals, like the Bible School ones, provide step by step instructions.  But, as a parent,I don't know if I'd like me teaching Sunday School-really the blind leading the blind.  But I can only try.  It's going to be a busy fall for us-the Library Story Hour and Pete's music lessons on Thursdays, Sunday School, plus our regular doctor and hospital visits.  At least Petey will have plenty of social life (hope it's not too much...every contact with another child is an added risk, but he's going to be around other children when he starts school anyhow...).   Paul Gates picked us up at 11:00am.  While we were driving it turned out he knows Dave Loebach and considers him the best electrician at Lloyd's.We stopped first at McDonald's.  Pete had a hamburger and milk, I had a Big Mac, fries, cherry pie, and a chocolate shake.  Gave Pete a bite of the fries and pie.  Then we stopped at St. Alphonsus Hospital so Paulo could visit a friend of his, Lola Gonzales, who has throat cancer.  Then we went on to MSTI.  Pete had his blood work (under protest, and his finger bled a lot today) and got a top and a helicopter out of the toy drawer.  We were early (got there at 2:00pm for our 2:40pm appointment) so Pete got to play for a while with the toys in the corner upstairs.  Then we went downstairs to wait again and Pete did a puzzle and played with the giant Legos.  He weighed 46.4 lbs today.  Dr. Holt checked him over and said he looked fine-asked about his blood count since Dr. Bakserville had been concerned.  She looke for a vein and Pete cried.  Then she said his feet were icy and had his feet and legs wrapped in a heating pad, and finally found a good vein in his foot (she only had to stick him twice).  She told me to tell Holy Rosary to try a heating pad or towels soaked in hot water-I told her I'd take my heating pad along to the hospital.  Pete cried but didn't move his foot once the IV was in (she said to tell them to try a 25 needle too).  Our next appointment, September 7th, is just for a C.B.C.  I asked her about preventing pneumonia and she said if they knew what caused the protozoan kind he had, she'd get a Nobel Prize.  But maybe later they can give him Septra as a preventative.  Then he had a nice visit with the social worker, who drew him some trains, gave him a felt tip pen to draw more, and told me she considered him "near genius" (boy, if only that had stuck!-PL).  The trip home was hot and dusty-I got painfully sun burnt and Pete sat on me all the time both ways.  Sylvia called and came over just as we got home.  She paid me $5.85 for babysitting and asked me to sit next Thursday.  Then Lorraine Bennett brought over a hamburger for me and a hot dog for Pete since she hadn't time to go out and we had a picnic on the lawn.  Played with Pete and read him Batman, the Firehouse Book and Alice's Sand Castle (he thought he'd dream about that).