Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2007. I will never forget this day! It was National Kite Day on the Mall in Washington, DC. My parents were visiting and we all walked down to the Mall. As you can see the cherry trees were in full bloom and we paused for a photo in front of them. It was my first and last attendance of Kite Day.
Quote of the day: No matter where you go, you will always be in my heart. ~ Anthony Hincks
This touching gift and card were sent to me by Mattie's nurse, Tricia. Tricia was Mattie's favorite nurse. Honestly Tricia helped us through every possible trauma while living in the hospital.
Three stories on Tricia. The first, soon after Mattie was diagnosed, he was angry and lashed out at me constantly. One particular day, Tricia entered Mattie's hospital room, and Mattie was having a full blown tantrum. He cornered me against a wall and was screaming and hitting me. Tricia could have turned around and walked out, to leave me to deal with this! After all she just met us that week and owed us nothing. But she didn't walk away. Instead, she calmed us both down, escorted us to Mattie's bed, told us we need to rest. Literally she tucked us in bed together and this helped to reset the tirade! Amazing no? That was my first introduction to Tricia. Not only an extraordinary nurse, but a very compassionate, insightful, and beautiful person.
The second story involves one of Mattie's PICU nurses. This nurse barred me from going into Mattie's room. This nurse proceeded to tell Mattie's oncologist that I was the reason he was seeking pain medication and also acting out. She felt separating him from me, that Mattie would do better. Literally I was hysterical, as Mattie was crying for me from inside his hospital room. This is when Tricia stepped in, as she witnessed this occurring in the hallway. She put this nurse and this doctor in their places one, two, three. She explained that she had cared for Mattie for months and the person who keeps him stable and secure was ME. Needless to say, I was allowed right back into the room. Again, Tricia could have walked passed this disagreement in the hallway, but she didn't! She stepped in, advocated for me, and made sure Mattie had exactly what he needed to manage the unimaginable.
The third story (out of SO SO many), was when Mattie was walking around in the PICU hallways. He spotted Tricia, and literally screamed.... TRICIA, from across the hallway. Tricia came running over because she thought something was wrong with Mattie. When she asked him what was wrong, his response was.... I wanted you to come over to tell you I LOVE YOU! It was a priceless moment, and like me, Mattie did not give his love away easily.
My point to all of this is Tricia is an incredibly special and important person in my life. She has been by my side through all sorts of medical traumas and Mattie's death. We remain close and when she reached out today, it was like being scooped up in a big hug of love. As I trust her implicitly with Mattie's life and my own. She is one of the gifts Mattie left behind for me and I am grateful for her love and support.
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