Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. Mattie worked that day on a bunch of Valentine's Day surprises for me in the child life playroom of the hospital. When I was allowed back into the room, Mattie gave me his hand crafted gifts. Gifts such as a crown of hearts and a decorated box that was filled with drawings and valentine's! It was a special moment and I am so glad that Mattie's art therapist captured it.
Quote of the day: Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you. ~ Augustine of Hippo
My day started with my dad pooping in the shower again. He is now doing this once or twice a week. I can't even tell you how unpleasant and noxious this is to clean up. But I know when this happens, it is the start of a long and bad day. When my dad first did this months ago, I would get upset. Now I realize this is part of the dementia process and there is no rationalizing with him. 'It is what it is!' Which has become my go to statement.
This week I learned that my dad's fitness trainer will not be returning to work with us. He has a family member who was just diagnosed with cancer and has to relocate out of the area to be of support. I can't tell you how saddened I am to receive this news. Naturally hearing that anyone has cancer is upsetting and I wish it were different for my dad's trainer. But from my standpoint, I am frustrated because this trainer was a great match for my dad. My dad is LOW energy and will look for any avenue out of physically working hard. This trainer knew how to energize my dad and get him to comply with exercising. So I feel like I am back to square one and I know I need to find a solution because keeping my dad physically mobile is the key to him living at home. I also know my limitations. I am stretched thin and I am not going to get into a screaming match about my dad's exercise routine. Someone else has to take this on!
While at physical therapy today with my mom, I mentioned to my mom and dad's therapist about what happened to the fitness trainer. Turns out one of my dad's therapists who works at the hospital also sees patients privately. I am now working with her to see if she will come to us and get my dad on a routine. Thankfully as one door closes another opens, because I need the help.
I love tonight's quote because it points out the importance of doing good work with others, and starting with those we come into contact with is a good place to start. We don't have to transform the world for hundreds of thousands. Just a few will do, and in the process, I believe this goodness/kindness gets transferred from those we touch to countless others. What am I talking about?
Well in 2021, Mattie Miracle was involved in a Thrivent Virtual Take the Plunge Challenge. Thanks to that challenge, we raised $10,000. This money was used to start a new initiative, a therapy support grant program. This program is designed to award families coping with childhood cancer an $1,000 grant to access mental health services in the community. That may sound strange, because you maybe asking yourself.... doesn't the hospital provide such services to its patients?! The answer is NO and in many cases families are burdened with so many medical expenses that paying out of pocket for mental health care is prohibitive. Which is why we decided to pilot our grant program in 2022. We are working with two families.
Today I heard from one of the families and the mom's message was beyond beautiful. Her son suffered a stroke, while undergoing cancer treatment. Imagine dealing with cancer and the side effects of a stroke?! It was recommended that this child start music therapy to help with his recovery. Great, but the family couldn't afford this and frankly no other non-profit was willing to provide funding. I learned about this family's need from a social worker listserv. Needless to say we have been paying for this young fellow's music therapy sessions since November. His mom shared with me that her son is beginning to use his arms again and is also making cognitive reconnections. She feels this is solely due to music therapy and our support brings her to tears. I will be writing about this in an upcoming Foundation newsletter, but her message reminded me that what we are doing is vital and makes a huge difference in the lives of children and their families.
No comments:
Post a Comment