Mattie woke up today and did not want to get out of his pajamas or leave the house. My parents came over toward the end of the morning and played with Mattie for a few hours. Mattie took everything out and by the time he was done it looked like there was an explosion of toys in his room. Fortunately Mattie was invited over for a playdate today with Charlotte, after school. That was a major motivator, and by 2:30pm, he complied with getting out of his PJs, washed up, and dressed. Thank goodness for friends!
Mattie had a wonderful playdate with Charlotte. They even walked to the upper school campus of SSSAS and ran around and built forts. Charlotte gave Mattie a wonderful Star Wars book and a solar powered keychain. While Ellen, Charlotte's mom, watched Mattie, I went out to lunch with my parents. While at lunch, Peter called me to let me know that Mattie's surgery had been bumped up to 7:30am, from the original 10:30am time schedule. So I immediately contacted Dr. Synder at Georgetown and asked her what we could do to get Mattie admitted to the hospital tonight. Dr. Synder made some phone calls and then she contacted me back and said we were all set.
When I picked Mattie up at Charlotte's, neither Mattie nor Charlotte wanted the playdate to end. Charlotte and Mattie were close buddies last year during kindergarten and it would be very natural and understandable if Charlotte moved on this year, and developed new friendships since Mattie no longer is at school. However, it is clear that Charlotte misses Mattie, and though she has other friends in her life, she hasn't forgotten about Mattie. They have a special connection, and as Mattie's mom, this warms my heart to know that Mattie in a way is irreplaceable in his friend's life. I know I feel this way about Mattie, but I am Mattie's mom. To see his friend feels this way is a special gift.
When we got back home tonight, I quickly packed things up for the hospital, and we had a lovely dinner thanks to the Goff-Glennon family! We loved all our Cheesecake Factory goodies! Thank you for a nice send off to the hospital. The chocolate cheesecake was the perfect medicine! When we arrived at the hospital, our room wasn't ready. It wasn't clean, nor was there a bed in it. So we carted all of our bags to the family lounge and hung out there for 90 minutes. While in the family room, I bumped into a woman I know from the Giant supermarket I go to near Mattie's school. She came up to talk with me, and let me know that her grandson was in the hospital. By the time she told me about her grandson, who is only 5, I felt like I had no problems what so ever. That should give you some understanding for the nature of her grandson's issues. He was born with no eyes, a half of a brain, unable to walk, respiratory issues, and I could go on, but I think you get the point. How a parent comes to deal with this, is beyond me. Here I am worrying about when will Mattie walk again, and in comparison to this family's issues, at least I know that Mattie will eventually be able to walk.
We finally got into Mattie's room tonight, and Melba, Mattie's HEM/ONC nurse delivered Mattie a special gift. The gift was dropped off by Kazu and his family. Kazu is a buddy of Mattie's from SSSAS. Kazu's mom and her family is from Japan. When we opened up the gift, it was simply amazing. It was 1000 origami cranes made with love by Kazu and his mom. Kazu's grandmother then put all the cranes together in a thread, one by one, praying for Mattie's strength and recovery. These cranes are truly beautiful! I have had the pleasure of trying to make an origami crane, and I know how hard it is, it is a labor of love! The fact that Kazu's family made Mattie 1000 cranes leaves me speechless. In Japan, these cranes signify a wish, and by giving Mattie these cranes Kazu's family is symbolically wishing for Mattie's successful surgery and recovery. Thank you so much for this very touching and symbolic gift. It will come with us on each hospital visit, and we hope its wish will come true! Below you will see pictures of these beautiful rainbow cranes, a gift never to be forgotten. Kazu's dad, Tad, wrote the following tonight about the cranes: "May these cranes take wing and reach those around the world who would join us in praying for Mattie."
I want to thank Team Mattie for having a planning meeting at Ann Henshaw's house last night. I hear the meeting was very successful, and I can not thank Ann enough for being our outstanding Team Coordinator. I hear the Team brainstormed some wonderful ways to help Mattie and it is incredible that through Mattie's illness so many talented individuals from our various lives (RCC, SSSAS, and GW) can be pulled together to create something so meaningful! Thank you for all your support, and thank you Carrie for hosting a bake sale at the upcoming Alexandria City Soccer Tournaments this weekend!On the electronic front, we want to thank Susan, Linda, Kim, Cousin Donna, Cousin Rosalinda, Ms. Pollak, Karen, and Emily W. for all your wonderful e-cards and wishes for tomorrow. They are all appreciated! As we head into tomorrow, please say a prayer and keep Mattie in your thoughts. He heads into surgery at 7:30am and will be in the OR for at least 8 hours. As I did last time, I will try to do periodic updates on the blog throughout the day. Thank you for all your support, messages, and love. I end tonight with a quote sent to me by my friend Charlie: "Once you choose hope, anything's possible." ~ Christopher Reeve
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