Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2007. Mattie was at his preschool buddy's superhero birthday party. As you can see, Super Mattie was saving the day. He threw down a pretend brick wall in the background, and was removing all obstacles from the scene. He was zipping around that day, but I was able to capture him and his beautiful smile in motion.
Quote of the day: Grief is a process of awareness, of making real inside the self an event that already occurred in reality outside. ~ Parkes and Weiss
Today was a very busy day. It started with a phone call to Representative Van Hollen's office to discuss and get an update on the work we are doing together. Then it was followed by another phone call to Margaret, who is a writer for the Georgetown Pediatrics, a publication distributed by the Georgetown University Hospital. Margaret wanted to get a parent's perspective regarding Dr. Shad's (Chief of the HEM/ONC pediatric clinic at Georgetown) palliative care program she is establishing at the Hospital for pediatric patients. This program is being supported by a Hyundai Hope on Wheels grant which Dr. Shad received in the fall. Margaret wanted to talk with me because I understand all too well the benefits of palliative care. Palliative care is different than hospice or end of life care.
Palliative care is the medical specialty focused on improving the quality of life of people facing serious illness. Emphasis is placed on pain and symptom management, communication and coordinated care. Palliative care is appropriate from the time of diagnosis and can be provided along with curative treatment. In essence palliative care is integrated and coordinated care in which physicians work with social workers, therapists, chaplains, and other supportive specialties. As I told Margaret today, this type of care is the only effective way to manage a serious or terminal illness. Physicians can't solve their patients' issues alone, it takes a range of professionals involved to adequately address a pediatric patient's pain, nausea, loss of appetite, difficulty sleeping, and overall quality of life.
After these calls, I met up with Ann, her mom Mary, and Ann's cousins Helen and Ed. We took Mary shopping and out to lunch. As we left the restaurant we bumped into two other friends, Margaret (Mattie's preschool teacher and my friend) and Tina (my friend who just hosted a successful art show which benefited Mattie Miracle). While talking with Margaret, she could see I was tired and at times overwhelmed. As she was giving me a reality check, she put her forehead against mine and looked at me. A move that my dear Mattie used to do to me all the time. Something Margaret knows. I did not say anything to Margaret, but it was as if this motion was giving me a message. Needless to say, Margaret, Tina, and I had a great time chatting, and it was just a meeting by happenstance.
Later today, I decided to go get my haircut. That may not sound like a big deal, but since I haven't done this for at least 8 months, it became a big deal. I have been going to the same person, Celina, for over 8 years. In fact, Celina knew me before I was pregnant with Mattie, and then of course followed his life with me, each time I went in for a haircut. Perhaps it is me and how I interact with people, but all people I interact with are important. Making connections with others is a priority to me and if I am going to work with you, I am going to have to get to know you. I have followed Celina from one salon to the next, until she become the manager of the Molecule Salon on M Street, NW in the District of Columbia. I know about Celina's family and know her husband and her sister. Both of whom work at the salon. What I value about Celina is she appreciates family and also has a heart of gold. She supports all sorts of causes and when her employees over the years have gotten seriously ill, she cares for them in extraordinary ways. Besides being a good person, she also is skilled at what she does and listens to what you want rather than feels she knows what is best for you. A rare treat to find in a salon these days. Needless to say she was worried that she hadn't seen me in a while. She asked me about the Foundation's Walk in May and also asked me how she could help. She wasn't going through the motions, she seriously wants to help and she presented me with two concrete ways. The first is that she handed me a gift certificate worth over $350 as a raffle prize so its recipient can come to her salon for services. The second offer for help is she wants to come to the Walk with a few of her employees and have a nail art table for young girls. She told me she is doing this for us for FREE and all the proceeds she generates from this will come directly to Mattie Miracle. I don't know about you, but this was amazing to hear, and certainly not something I ever expected to happen today.
Celina's kindness further reminds me about the importance of making connections. Of conversing and listening to one another. It is through being human and making time for others, that true greatness can be achieved. I have attached a link to Celina's salon: http://www.moleculesalon.com/
Peter has his last day in Kenya tomorrow, and in the evening boards a plane headed back to Qatar. He has an 8 hour layover in Qatar and then a 14 hour plane trip back to Washington, DC. He is naturally exhausted and that should be NO surprise since he has been traveling four out of the last six weeks, and logging almost 37,000 miles in airline flights during that time!
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