I Just Want To Play With My Friends

Tonight, a couple of Alex's neighbor friends came over to play. We had to turn them away, since we were just informed that they had contracted "fifth disease". They protested that they weren't contagious anymore, which is most likely the case. They are great kids, and I know Alex loves to play with them.

The problem is that with Alex's weakened immune system, we have to be extra careful. I am not a doctor, and cannot claim to know everything about communicable diseases, and I just can't take the risk.

Alex was devastated. He cried, he yelled "I just don't care", and then through his sobs, he said "It's not fair! I just want to play with my friends". All I could do was hold him, tell him how I agreed that it wasn't fair, but that we needed to be careful.

I am so mad at cancer coming back into our lives. Alex just wants to run and play, and enjoy being a 6 year old during summer break. Unfortunately, as parents, we need to shield him from things he can't see, and situations that his friends can handle without difficulty.

Damn you, cancer...damn you.