Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2006. To me this captured Mattie's eclectic look! I most likely had asked Mattie to get dressed for the day and he did not want to, so instead, he started putting clothes on top of his pajamas. Not what I had intended, but he was taking my request literally. Of course I can also see Lego tracks on the right hand side of this photo that Mattie had put together. Legos were always a part of our lives, whether Mattie was healthy or battling cancer. They just colored our world and our living room. After Mattie died, we donated over 14,000 Lego blocks. Which should give you some idea for how many Legos we were living with.
Quote of the day: All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. ~ Charles M. Schulz
This afternoon I went to Georgetown University Hospital to visit my newest friend who I just met this spring. Michelle is a graduate of Georgetown and I met her while giving a Mattie Miracle presentation on campus. When delivering the presentation, I could tell that Michelle understood cancer on a very personal level. I learned later that she lost a close friend to cancer while in college. In any case, we have been connected ever since. Unfortunately today I visited her at the hospital because she had an accident which impacted both of her legs. Being an active person, losing the ability to use your legs for several months is a very large adjustment. Of course having an emergency surgery and living in a hospital is also overwhelming. Not that I had any words of wisdom, I do know that having company and support can make a difference.
The irony is I can go to Georgetown University Hospital and walk around, but don't ask me to park in the garage. There is something about that whole experience that brings back bad memories. Instead I literally park three blocks away, regardless of the weather, and walk onto the campus. I just can't deal with the parking nightmare, the tight garage, and the memories of wheeling Mattie through the floors of the garage to get him admitted. The stress of that garage will remain with me always. Sure the garage had an elevator, but it did not always work! So literally most of the time if I was lucky enough to even find a parking space, it was located at the bottom floor of the garage, then I had to wheel Mattie with ALL of our bags UP the ramps of the garage to get into the hospital.
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Before visiting Michelle, I visited the hospital gift shop because I wanted to bring her something to cheer her up. I know going into a hospital room empty handed isn't a good plan! So I tried to think about what I would want to see if stuck in a bed. The last time I was in this hospital's gift shop was with Mattie! I remember buying a cute stuffed kitty with Mattie in the gift shop! I still have this kitty. When I went into the shop today, I did not have Mattie with me and naturally it was a strange feeling. The first thing that caught my attention was this butterfly balloon. So I felt that was symbolic and got that, but then all around me was chocolate! That was NO surprise to me. Chocolate is my medicine of choice, but clearly I am not the only one. Mattie would have been most disappointed with the gift shop's decision...... I could just hear him squawking if he were with me!!!
I am happy I visited Michelle and I got to meet her mom as well. One thing about myself that hasn't changed is I still love meeting people, learning about their lives, and hearing about their thoughts and feelings. Michelle's mom told me a special butterfly story about how they raised butterflies right before Michelle went to kindergarten. Then on the first day of kindergarten they went to school and had a butterfly release with the entire class. She was telling me this story because she thought the butterfly balloon was special and symbolic of her earlier beginnings. There is something special about butterflies for all of us and I am so happy that this balloon caught my eye today.
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