Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Tonight I attached a video instead of a photo of Mattie taken in February of 2009. It was taken during a physical therapy session on the inpatient floor of the hospital. This was what a typical session looked like with Mattie. In the lead of the session was Anna, Mattie's physical therapist. Behind Mattie were Jessie, one of Mattie's art therapists and Linda, Mattie's child life specialist. Mattie had a whole entourage when doing physical therapy. He really needed this moral support because movement for Mattie was painful and required a great expenditure of energy. So he truly needed people to encourage him, to egg him on, and to he needed an audience. Sometimes he needed people to even compete against. It just depended on his mood and the situation. Because Mattie practically lived at the hospital and we were always roaming around on the floor, all the staff who worked on the floor got used to seeing us pass by. Many would wave to Mattie. Though this video clip doesn't show it, I can assure you there were some therapy session where we were blasting ABBA's Dancing Queen on a boom box to motivate Mattie to move his body. When Dancing Queen was blaring every office door would open to see exactly what was going on in the hallway. As soon as people would see Mattie trying to do physical therapy with his merry band of followers people couldn't help but smile!
Quote of the day: You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. ~ Marcus Aurelius
When I reflect on Marcus Aurelius' quote and one having "power over your mind," I can't help but think about parents who help care for their children who have cancer. Particularly I am thinking about moms, since I was a mom and today I communicated back and forth with two moms who are helping their daughters battle cancer. One mom I know very well, she is my friend and her daughter was diagnosed around the same time Mattie was diagnosed with cancer, and another I was just recently introduced to. In any case the mom I was recently introduced to contacted me because she needed some information and help. Information that I did not know but I knew that my friend Cathy could supply her with it given that I consider Cathy a guru in stem cell transplant issues. Needless to say I text messaged Cathy and within seconds she responded and literally within minutes one mom was connected to another mom. I have no doubt that Cathy was able to help this other mom, but you should know that my friend Cathy is knee deep in helping her own daughter with cancer.
Cathy's daughter is a truly special young woman who is witty, humorous, and very introspective. She deeply cares about her family and the world around her and yet she was struck down with cancer at the age of 15 and has been in and out of hospitals ever since. She is 21 now, and hasn't had the opportunity to really live a normal life. The average 21 year old would be sulking in the corner and pitching a fit, but not Bridget. She finds a way to cope and courageously plot through her six year cancer journey. I do think having a committed and loving family by her side helps tremendously. Cathy is a steadfast mom who is focused, determined, diligent and can talk as intelligently as most medical doctors. She knows every treatment option available out there and is very familiar with the major medical institutions on the Eastern seaboard. I met Cathy and her husband George early on in Mattie's treatment phase, and I always remember that they were in awe of me for what we seemed to be enduring. But as I told Cathy today.... she is my hero, because I admire the incredible role she plays in her family's life. Despite all Cathy is balancing, she found the time to help another mom and child today with cancer. That to me leaves a lasting memory. Not surprising coming from the source, but it speaks to the way that childhood cancer unites us.
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