Sunday, February 6, 2022

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. This was a typical physical therapy session for Mattie. The line behind Mattie was comprised of his art therapist (Jenny), his social worker (Denise), his other art therapist (Jessie), and a physical therapy intern. What you can't see was in front of Mattie was Linda, his child life specialist, and Anna, his physical therapist. These were an incredible team of women who understood that Mattie needed a lot of emotional support as he re-learned how to walk. This might look ridiculous, but I can't tell you how much their physical and psychosocial presence made in our daily lives. It just isn't quantifiable! Though Mattie never really walked again, other than a few steps, I don't think we could have survived the daily horrors of Mattie's cancer without THIS team of people. 

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins. 

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 76,493,705
• Number of people who died from the virus: 902,560

Peter flew to Knoxville, TN today for a two day meeting. This is after coming off of a trip to Syracuse, NY. Peter is under a great deal of stress work wise, and of course our home life has been an adjustment. Though I know Peter doesn't like leaving me to balance everything, I know it is important for him to travel. Both for the health of his career, and frankly for his mental health. He needs a break from the daily pace. 

Meanwhile, Indie is already pining for Peter. She is most definitely his cat! Within two hours of his departure from the house, she was sitting on his side of the bed. 

In comparison to other days, today was a relatively calm day. Same routine but my dad's bowel movements were under control, we got out for lunch (without incidence), and I am planning the day tomorrow, as my dad needs an echocardiogram. That may sound easy, but there are logistics to be managed, as my dad has a speech therapy session before he leaves the house, I have to make sure he has time to go to the bathroom before we leave, I figured out where to drop my mom off while I am with my dad for the testing, and therefore have accounted for all contingencies.