When You Wish Upon A Star

Blood draws were early this morning -- or late (they were supposed to be done Tuesday).  We needed results early in case Brendan needed blood or platelets.  We were glad to see Riley again! 

 Yep -- platelets were low.  (Platelets help the blood to clot.)  We headed to Salt Lake in a hurry so Brendan could meet with the doctors and get a bag of platelets before his Wish Party at 5:30 p.m.

 At clinic, standing up to get weighed was almost more than Brendan could deal with.  It brought him to tears to think about putting weight on his left knee.  The nurse and I literally lifted him out of his chair, let him balance himself for a brief moment to get his weight, then carefully set him back into his wheelchair.  Getting his other vitals wasn't near as traumatizing.

 Brendan was glad to finally get a bed to rest in.  (The nurse had to lift him into the bed, too.) An hour later, Brendan received his platelets and a dose of hydrocortisone.  It's amazing the difference a bag of platelets can make.  Brendan had bumped his arm on the way into the hospital and developed a nasty looking bruise.  His lips were bleeding and his nose was oozing blood.  Two hours later, all of that stopped.  (We are going to try a round of steroids to see if it will help relieve the bone pain and any inflammation he may be having.  If tonight is any indication, it is definitely helping.)

Initially, our conversation with the doctors centered around Brendan's choice to end treatments and tests.  Once Brendan said, "I see no reason to continue treatment when there is 0% chance of curing anything," the topic changed. The doctors appreciated Brendan's honest evaluation of the options and his grasp of the situation. So then there was a lot of discussion about palliative care, hospice care, future transfusion options, radiation options to alleviate pain, disease progression, and coordination of care.  The social worker was brought in and the radiation doctor called to set up appointments to radiate the painful spots on Brendan's knee, ribs, chest, and shoulder.  All on the left side of his body.  Once Brendan was given platelets, he went right to sleep.

 The doctors and nurses did a fabulous job getting Brendan's port de-accessed and giving me directions for the fastest way to the Make-A-Wish "Wish House" during rush hour traffic.

I really appreciated the help and we made it just in time for the party!  The family was already gathering.  At first it looked like we would only have a few family members that could make it, but soon we had most of Brendan's aunts and uncles, all of his grandparents, and a whole bunch of his cousins. At least 50 people showed up.  It was a happy time!

 The "Wish Party" is celebrated after the "Wish Trip" is done.  It's a chance for the family to come together and celebrate Brendan's wish with him.  Here, Brendan is personalizing his star.

Everyone enjoyed the ice cream cakes!

 We were given a tour of the Wish House.

 Since the Wish House was under renovation when Brendan made his wish, we were able to go to the "Wishing Room" and watch Brendan make his wish -- even though it had already been granted.

Then we were all able to share what we would each wish for Brendan.  We wrote that wish down on a card, read it to Brendan, then put it in a box for him to keep.  Brendan received lots and lots of "wishes."  (Saying what we would wish for Brendan was a difficult task.  What we all hoped for we knew would probably not happen.  So what do you say?  While everyone seemed to struggle putting  their wishes into words, the Spirit was strong and the love spoke volumes.)

 (And yes, the room kept changing colors -- it's a wish tower.  Magical things happen!)

 I was completely unprepared for what happened in that wishing room.  It was truly magical.  Take Brendan.  Add family--grandparents, siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles.  Add more love than I ever thought existed in the world, and you get --

Yep, it was indescribable.  Pure Joy.  I wish I could just give you a taste of what it felt like . . .
Everyone in this world should know how much they are loved.  It's magic.

When all the wishes were bestowed upon Brendan, it was time to hang his star!

 "When You Wish Upon a Star" was the music playing in the background.  It was hard to control the tears watching that star rise up into the "sky" of the Wish House.  Maybe because everything about this Wish Party was a type of things to come.

As much as we wish Brendan had never had cancer, we know that we never would have met the wonderful people we have crossed paths with.  Ashley and Kael, Brendan's Wish Granters, are two of those amazing people.  They made all of this "magic" happen.

I'm not sure if it was the Wish House magic or the platelets or the steroids.  But Brendan was feeling a whole lot better on the way home.  He walked, he ate "crazy bread" . . .

. . .and he was still looking for more to eat when he got home.

Wishes still come true!