Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2009. Believe it or not, this was during a physical therapy session. Mattie was trying to take some steps using his reverse walker. To inspire Mattie to walk, we had Meg (child life intern) egging Mattie on! Meg is the woman in the white shirt on the right. She would always compete with Mattie in these hallway races. Without Meg, the sessions never went well, but with her pretending to race Mattie, his competitive nature kicked in and he would try to walk. Here you will see Anna (Mattie's physical therapist, wearing purple) trying to knock Meg out of the way so that Mattie would win the hallway race. The antics that were done to motivate and inspire Mattie will never be forgotten. Amazing women!

Quote of the day: Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought. ~ Albert Einstein

It was quite the morning. I got up at 5:30am, in order to get everything done, so I could take my mom to the city for her hair and nail appointment. We had to leave the house at 9am. These early mornings, I find super stressful! I land up herding both of my parents and frankly this frazzles me. 

This morning, I was working right on schedule. Well that was until I turned my dad's shower on. I couldn't get any hot water in his shower. Hot water was coming out of the sink and tub, but not the shower. I wasted close to 20 minutes on trying to figure this out. Finally I decided to give my dad a wash basin filled with soapy warm water to wash himself down. Of course he was thoroughly confused and put a ton of shampoo in his hair (exactly what I told him NOT to do). I had to dump water over his head to rinse him clean, and I felt like I was getting a second shower for the day. Could my dad have gone without a wash off? Perhaps, but given how sensitive his skin is and his use of depends, I feel it is vital for him to get cleaned off each morning. Somehow I made it work and was also able to get out the door in time to take my mom. I assure you though by 9am, I was spent! 

After the salon appointment, I drove to MedStar Georgetown Hospital and delivered a few loads of toiletries for our Snack & Item Cart!

The surprise I received, while visiting the Hospital today, were these clay creations! When the director of art therapy was cleaning up the clinic, she found these four objects. Apparently they were all created by Mattie. I have NEVER seen them and I can't even recall when they were made. Clearly the clay was never glazed! Nonetheless, the top ribbon shaped object (on the right) says, Maya #1. Maya was a friend of Mattie's! She did not have cancer but a blood disorder, which brought her to the same pediatric clinic as Mattie. Maya is the same age as Mattie and they instantly bonded. I will never forget the first day Mattie met Maya. They were sitting around the art therapy table, with a whole bunch of kids. Mattie was quiet, as he really did not prefer group interactions. At the art table, Maya started talking about how much she hated needles. This caught Mattie's attention. It was what she was saying, that he could relate to 100%. Mattie even told her as much. From that day forward, they became close buddies. I think it was adorable that Mattie made Maya a #1 ribbon. 

I am saddened I have no context to these items. Nor do I remember seeing Mattie make them. Then again, Mattie was very prolific while in the hospital, so I couldn't possibly remember every object. What I do know is art therapy was both a great and positive distraction, and also it provided Mattie an outlet to express his feelings in a creative way! Not with WORDS, but with clay, paint, and other media.