Mattie Quote of the Day: While climbing up the stairs today, Mattie turns to Caroline Eaton (his piano teacher) and says: "You know, even though I've got bone cancer, I can do anything I try to do. I'm still strong!"
Quote of the day: "It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding." ~ Kahlil Gibran
Mattie woke up in a good mood, and played for several hours with Peter. They were busy constructing a Ferris wheel together, and I snapped a picture of the finished product. So the morning started off very busy here!
Mattie had a special visit today from Caroline Eaton, his piano teacher. Caroline spent close to two hours with Mattie. They played on the keyboard and Mattie also showed Caroline how he could walk up the stairs, or I should say his version for climbing up the stairs. While climbing Mattie stated to Caroline, "You know, I've got bone cancer. I can do anything I try to do. I'm still strong!" I could not get over what was reported to me. I thought that was absolutely fabulous, and a very good place for Mattie to be in since he will need to begin the tough process of learning to walk again! Thank you Caroline for capturing this sentiment for us, and for also bringing Mattie pumpkin bread! We so appreciate your generosity of your time and talents.
After Mattie's visit with Caroline, he then got to spend some time out on our deck in the sandbox. He has wanted to play in the sandbox all week, but I wouldn't allow him into the box with the old sand. Mattie was thrilled that Peter bought new sand yesterday, and is enjoying his time outside. It was a bit chilly for Mattie earlier in the day today, so Peter literally had a heater going right near the sandbox. I love the picture that Peter captured of the moment!
Mattie also had a good time playing with the easel he received yesterday from Tanja. Mattie requested a chair so he could sit while working at the easel, and we encouraged him to work without one. It forced him to stand on his feet while playing and drawing. I think there is a lot we can accomplish with this easel.
While Mattie and Peter spent the day together, I went to visit with Ann's parents at the assisted living center. Before visiting them I went out to get a couple of things that I thought they would like. Ann's dad is a Boston Red Sox fan, and really wanted a paper where he could read about the Sox. That may sound like a trivial request, but considering her parents relocated here from Boston about a year ago, it makes perfect sense that they miss aspects of home. I certainly know how it feels to relocate to a place, and I am sensitive to that feeling. I wasn't able to track down Boston papers, but did find several NY papers. Ann's dad was thrilled and read the papers cover to cover. It brings me great pleasure to know that my simple effort could bring someone happiness. I really relate to Ann's parents very much. We both live in a world in which we have little control over our lives, for them it is an assisted living community and for me, it is a PICU. We can't predict what will happen to us minute to minute, we can't decide how we will spend our day, we are isolated from things and people we have become accustomed to, and so forth. When I arrived at the center, Ann's parents were having lunch. So I sat down with them and chatted with them through lunch. I had fun learning how Ann's parents met each other and other fun stories. Ann's parents were funny today, they were upset with me at first that I brought them food and newspapers. But then I asked them what they would be doing if they were visiting me. They smiled and they said they would be doing the same thing, bringing me something. So with that I said that they shouldn't feel guilty, that bringing them something made me happy. I personally enjoyed watching Ann's mom eating the items I brought to her. I believe that Ann's parents have gotten comfortable with me the past two days, and it was hard to tell them that I wouldn't be visiting for a few days because Mattie was going into the hospital on Monday. They asked if I would call them, and I assured them I would. They both want an update on Mattie tomorrow. It is special to me to know that perhaps my presence made a difference for them.
When I arrived home this afternoon, Mattie requested to go out for a walk. So Peter and I took Mattie out for a stroll. We walked down to the Washington Mall, and saw some wonderful signs of spring. Peter snapped some pictures of flowers and then of Mattie and I in front of a cherry tree.
We continued walking to one of the tidal pools on the mall, where there were wonderful seagulls and ducks flying about. The day that I did not bring bread to feed the ducks, is the day of course that I needed bread. We experienced a random act of kindness because a man with his daughter were by the tidal pool with a whole loaf of sliced bread feeding the birds. They saw Mattie and the fact that we did not have any bread to engage the birds. The dad walked over to me and asked whether Mattie would like a stack of bread. It was very thoughtful and generous of this man to share his bread with us, and the little girl did not even complain about the fact that she was sharing her bread with Mattie. Mattie had a wonderful time feeding all the birds, as you can see!
After our walk, we met up with our neighbors and had a wonderful time catching up with each other. We also want to thank JP and JJ (our resident Jack Russell Terrier) for bringing over Mattie's favorite pizza and pasta today. That was very thoughtful of you. We are all trying to get prepared for Mattie's hospital admission on Monday. I still have to pack and Peter and I also have to change Mattie's central line dressing tonight. One of our LEAST favorite activities! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we head into another round of treatment, which means about two weeks in the hospital.
I end tonight's blog with a message I received from my friend Charlie. Charlie wrote, "Saturday's blog demonstrated what I have always believed, when you do for others, you always end up giving a gift to yourself. That's why no matter what is happening in your life it is important to reach out to others whenever and wherever you can. In Judaism it is important that even if you are the receiver of charity, that you find a way to give to others in turn. I am so glad you were able to visit with Ann's parents on Saturday. It was a meaningful day for everyone and an opportunity to give back to someone who has given more than any of us could begin to quantify. It sounds like a day that helped you to rebuild a little of what gets lost in the hospital shuffle. The greatest gifts are always those of self, of time, of touch or with thought for the receiver. On Saturday you were able to give all four to Ann's parents and I thank you for sharing and reminding us of that.I was also happy to hear that Mattie is enjoying his time away from the hospital and "recharging" for the next round. Hopefully, he will weather this next one well and soon you will be only in the "check in" mode."
"Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human." ~ Anthony Robbins
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