The Miracle of Family

Miracles continue to abound when Brendan is home around family and friends.  Today he did all sorts of things that have been hard for him to do the past month.  Today he was up and about--without complaint or coaxing-- and just had to see the new snow!  He was so excited!

He ate breakfast!  He got it all by himself.  It may have had something to do with getting a quarter, but, hey, he ate! 

(Yesterday when we got home, he and I worked out a deal.  Every time he ate something or took his medicine by mouth I would give him a quarter.  Every time he threw up he would give me a quarter.  He was getting in the habit of just taking everything through his feeding tube.  We were told if he didn't keep swallowing, his throat muscles would get weak and it would be hard for him to keep his food down. )    

 Each of his "jobs" (i.e. brush teeth, fluoride rinse, shower,  neck exercises, etc.) would get him another quarter.  Over this weekend he is hoping to earn a few dollars to go along with the $10 he earned doing the study at the hospital so he can buy Christmas presents.)

 While I had the clippers out, I just trimmed up his hair.  That caused him a lot of distress -- as does anything touching his head.  He was worried I would get too close to the stitches on his head and the incisions on his neck.

 All of the things Brendan has to do routinely has been a struggle for him since brain surgery.  Showering has been terrifying because the water hurts his head, but bathing was off limits until the incisions healed.  Bathing is difficult because he can't soak up to his chest when his port is accessed. But in order to keep his skin clean -- an important thing when blood counts are low -- he has to bathe or shower every day.

Radiation can alter the bone in the teeth so keeping his teeth healthy is extremely important.  He will have to have antibiotics each time he has dental work done from now on.  Again, since brain surgery, it has been hard for Brendan to want to scrub his teeth as it shakes his head.  The meningitis made him hate brushing his teeth even more.

Taking his medication has been difficult when he has been nauseous.   After brain surgery, Brendan felt very pressured every time he had to take his medicines and he often would balk and refuse to take them.  Slowly, he's gotten better -- until the feeding tube made it easy to just crush the pills and put them through his tube with some water.

With all of these negative associations to his daily routine, it has often taken most of the day to get everything done.  So to have him do this himself today was amazing!

 It was finally time to head to Smithfield for Thanksgiving!  Aunt Shara had to look him over after giving him a hug.

 Yeah for cousins!

 And grandma!

 Brendan liked to hang out by the heater.

 Pretty soon the kids were all playing hide and seek.   Brendan was right there with them.  Shhhh!

 Time to come in for dinner!

 The blessing of family.

Whoa, dude!  Check out those scars!

More fun and games.

Warming up with inside games.  

All day I waited for Brendan to tire out.  He knew when he did we would head home.  Amazingly, he just kept going.  He ate and played and ate and played.  And boy did he smile all day long!

 We finally had to call it a night and get Brendan home.  It was time for his nightly feeding -- Ten hours of concentrated nutrition.

 What an incredibly fun day.  And it was so amazing to see the progress Brendan made today.  He's moving, he's happy, and he was eating with no sign of nausea.  Brendan has been checking the scale several times a day.  He's hoping to gain a pound before the end of the weekend.  There's a piñata a friend brought him to celebrate the accomplishment of that goal.  Today was a good start!

Happy Thanksgiving!