As the news from the doctors yesterday settles in my mind, I've felt a greater peace and comfort surround me. The frantic, urgent sense that something has to be done immediately has dissipated. I find logical sense, as well as a feeling of calm, in letting two weeks pass before we once again begin to search for a cause to the bone issues Brendan's scans brought up.
Looking at Brendan this morning, I determined to take each day as it comes. We know all too well, that everything can change in a matter of hours, so we'll just take the good days whenever they come.
Today Brendan woke up feeling good and acting great. He went outside, he played with the puppy, he showered, he visited, and he rested. Each day he's feeling well, he can gather strength and build himself up for another challenging push, if it comes to that.
Brendan's blood counts hit bottom (nadir) today and I could see it in his tiredness and desire to stay warm tonight. He wrapped himself up in blankets, sat on the heater, and didn't want to move unless he had to. But earlier today he seemed to have plenty of energy.
Brendan: "I saw Grandma Swan three times today -- all at different times. She came by herself, then she came with Aunt Kathy and Grandma Griffiths, then again with Aunt Faye and Uncle Loyal."
This beautiful woman is 98 years old. She taught my mom, she shaped my life and continues to be an incredible influence on me, and now she is a friend and example to my children. Through her many life challenges, she has been ever valiant and steadfast, and my fondest dream is to be just like her!
Aunt Faye and Uncle Loyal came as well. (Faye, Kathy, and my mom are sisters.)
Brendan showed everyone his ever-growing bead collection and described what most of them represented. He strung the beads from his last two hospital stays onto a whole new string (because he filled up the last strand.)
Brendan says the pain in his hips (from the biopsies) is all gone. And the hip pain (from the fluid on his hip) is gone too.
A good day -- We'll take all of those we can get!
What a wonderful day it was for me! I had more chance to just sit & ask Brendan questions and listen to the cheerfulness in his voice as he talked about some of the experiences of these last 5 months...no sadness...no "poor me"...no anger. He told me the thing he liked best at Primary Children's Hospital was the nurses. He could not tell me exactly what they did that made them special, but that they are funny sometimes even the ones in PICU. But his love for them shined in his eyes as spoke of them. Brendan, we love them too for taking such good care of you.
ReplyDelete(A little ironic...Kerry's cousin trains the nurses at Primary Children's to be the best nurses ever!)