Tonight's picture was taken on December 24, 2008. It was Christmas Eve and Mattie got a visit from one of his favorite characters, Scooby Doo. This visit brought a smile to Mattie's face. But the happiness was fleeting for Mattie. Mattie was later discharged and was able to go home to celebrate Christmas. I am sure hospitals think this is what every family wants and for the most part they are probably right. Except when it came to us! Time away from the hospital was down right difficult as it was hard to manage Mattie's pain and medical needs at home. In addition, at home there was no else around to help us and both the physical and mental health challenges that we balanced on a daily basis. I remember that Christmas at home, and it was memorable, but not in a good way as this was when medical traumatic stress symptoms began to pop up for Mattie.
Quote of the day: The ethic of conviction and the ethic of responsibility are not opposites. They are complementary to one another. ~ Max Weber
Peter has done an outstanding job advocating for his mom since December 2. If it weren't for him, who knows when she would have gotten the surgery or been discharged and heading to rehab. I know the stress Peter is managing all too well but in addition to dealing with the sheer magnitude of the crisis, he is also balancing family dynamics.
It is hard when you see the reality of your parent's physical and mental health challenges, but your sibling doesn't agree with you. The tension that can erupt is enormous and frankly it would be easier to walk away from this stress or just give in. But giving in has consequences on the health and well being of one's parent.
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