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The Incredible Highs & Rock Bottom Lows: Part I
As many of you know, Gavin had surgery on July 14th. However, only few of you know the big picture leading up to this. Which is no fault of your own. This was a year in the making, and then, suddenly, a very urgent situation. A situation that shook me. I am very aware that my threshold for “being shook” is abnormally high, but this one, like others in the past, had lifelong implications that I believed were behind us. So let me back up and explain before jumping in.
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I’m here for the Banana Bread
During our three weeks of self quarantine, Thursdays are the days that are the toughest on Gavin. Of course, I’ve over analyzed this concept and still don’t have a clue as to why. But this morning started out much like our other Thursdays. By mid morning, I was over it and decided to throw in the towel on preschool e-learning and therapy driven activities. So naturally, we baked. Combining one of Gavin’s all time favorite activities with one of my all time favorites, homemade banana bread.
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Home Sweet Home
After over 100 days at the hospital, it feels wonderful to be home!
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A Self-Care Search
Self-care has become a bit of a buzz word: #selfcare #selfcaresunday #selfcareishealthcare. If you did a quick google search you could find several articles that teach you “10 self-care principles” or even a few related to the “top health benefits of self-care.” The basic concept of self-care is the ability to deliberately focus on your own mental, emotional, and physical health while continuing to function within our busy overfilled schedules in order to reduce everyday anxiety and increase quality of life. As you can imagine, self-care is something that got back burnered for our summer. We tried very hard to keep it a priority. We encouraged each other to get outside to breathe fresh air for 20 minutes, go for a quick jog, walk to…
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Growth Takes Time
This past week marks 8 weeks since June 13th, the day this adventure kicked off. 8 weeks of living out of duffel bags in a hospital. 8 weeks of being away from home. 8 weeks of doctors, nurses, therapists, IV teams, diagnostic tests, anesthesia, and bells and whistles at all hours of the day and night. 8 weeks of an emotional, mental, and physical rollercoaster. 8 weeks of watching our son and his tiny body endure much more than people do in a lifetime. 8 weeks of incredible outpouring of love, support, prayers, healing vibes, gifts, and coffee (so much coffee). 8 weeks of growth. So much growth! Growth that did not come free and yet, is priceless. Let us catch you up on some…
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Withstanding with Courage
These last couple of days have been a bit of a blur. On Monday, Gavin was seen by one of the orthopedic doctors. I expressed to him that we felt as if Gavin was quickly losing functionality in his legs, specifically his left leg. At one point, I stopped and said, “I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to be the one saying why these things are happening, that’s your job! My job is to tell you what I’m seeing.” He laughed and said, “Yes, you’re right. And now it’s time for me to do my job.” He went on to explain that he needed to call the other orthopedic (the one that would be performing the spinal surgery) immediately. On Thursday of last week I had…
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Just a Routine Check Up
There are days in Gavin’s life that are tattooed on my soul. Moments where I am literally ripped inside out with just a few words.
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One of a Kind
“Oh my gosh, he’s so cute! Those big cheeks and blue eyes! Just adorable! But what’s wrong with him?”
