Sammy, Tinsel and the Polar Bear

It's hard to keep up an informative blog when you're back at work. However, the lack of much happening has been of great assistance!
Since the great shave-offs the most obvious thing is that hair has started to grow back. Even Joe's. His is very soft and downy, with the odd little sharp bristle that didn't come out before, and so got cut. Everyone else's is growing, apart from Uncle Dave's: he's already cut it again.
Also Joe has started to lose some of his padding. The skin on his face is less puffy, and some little scars are showing again. Previously everything was sort of bloated out. He is still quite round: his appetite was always healthy, but he used to be much more physically active. Now he lacks physical confidence: he worries about his legs, feels little niggles and expects to tire quickly. So the weight is staying on him for the moment. We're going to visit Jack at Centre Park on Saturday. That should get him active: he's looking forward to cycling and swimming.
We know more about his future treatment. A central line will go into his chest at the start of January. He has an intensive 6 weeks treatment, administered in Norwich. I might even get to give him injections (I know I shouldn't get excited about it) at home. And then treatment eases back to what it is currently: daily chemo tablets, weekly antibiotics. For 3 years. You can see why the injections are exciting: 3 years of tablets certainly isn't!
Sammy finds Joe's illness tricky: he has to reaffirm his status as youngest and neediest every time Joe goes into hospital for day procedures. So it's wet trousers, crying, having to be fed, sitting on knees etc for two days a week. The rest of the time he is absolutely lovely, though.
Tinsel is due on 19 December. I should be taking paternity leave, everything I am entitled to, after the Christmas holiday. It's a bit fiddly though, as we don't know when Joe's chest line goes in exactly, and it will have to be me that goes to Cambridge with hime for it: Sue and Tinsel won't really be up to it. To make life simple, I need to take the leave around the time of the operation. However, nobody can tell us yet. I still haven't blogged my musings on the NHS (which are almost entirely positive and enthusiastic, in fact).
Sa,mmy's got a shock coming when Tinsel arrives, I think. We have explained it all. A lot. So much that he's decided he is going to give birth too. But his will be a polar bear. A friendly one. Called Lily. It's coming at Christmas. We've explained. Really we have. He's more or less got the idea. But yes, you're right: it is still going to be a big shock! But we will actually give him a polar bear to help him through some of it. And if the polar bear later gets a little sister... Well, Sammy should know what to do by then.