Holding steady
Madi is doing brilliantly! She had a wonderful day yesterday. She spent most of it sitting up, playing board games, and touring the hospital in a wheelchair. Physical therapy cleared her to go home after she walked around the neuro floor (where she's staying) a few times. They even took her up and down stairs and trained me how to "spot her" in preparation of returning home. They did not expect to discharge her so early, but she is doing really well so we may be able to go home today or tomorrow. Her recovery from surgery could not have gone better.
One of Madi's best friends asked to come yesterday. Madi has been slightly overwhelmed with people (nurses, doctors, friends, family, etc..), but she said she felt up to it. She and Ella played the Harry Potter board game and we all laughed and joked and it felt like normal again. It felt so good NOT to talk about everything for a while. Ella also brought the whole Harry Potter movie collection with her. Madi was ecstatic since she has been begging to watch the later Harry Potter movies for a long time. Get brain surgery and your parents will suddenly not care about a lot of stuff :).
Madi and I laid side by side and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie. I- of course- fell asleep halfway through, but Madi made it to the end. When she woke up at 3:30 and had to go to the bathroom, we both woke up enough that we couldn't go back to sleep. We laid next to each other, holding hands and talking until almost 5. It was an incredibly fulfilling day for both of us. It brought relief where I didn't know we needed it. A day well-lived is a good day. At one point in our conversation, Madi was talking about how nice it was not to be throwing up and having headaches anymore. She said something about how nice it was to eat something without being afraid of throwing it up again. She said something along the lines of "happiness is much better than fear." Even in my groggy 4am state, I still found that really profound.
So that's our goal from now on: being happy and grateful instead of being afraid. Fear is just as pernicious as this stupid brain cancer we are facing, so we need to be done with it. More later.
One of Madi's best friends asked to come yesterday. Madi has been slightly overwhelmed with people (nurses, doctors, friends, family, etc..), but she said she felt up to it. She and Ella played the Harry Potter board game and we all laughed and joked and it felt like normal again. It felt so good NOT to talk about everything for a while. Ella also brought the whole Harry Potter movie collection with her. Madi was ecstatic since she has been begging to watch the later Harry Potter movies for a long time. Get brain surgery and your parents will suddenly not care about a lot of stuff :).
Madi and I laid side by side and watched the fourth Harry Potter movie. I- of course- fell asleep halfway through, but Madi made it to the end. When she woke up at 3:30 and had to go to the bathroom, we both woke up enough that we couldn't go back to sleep. We laid next to each other, holding hands and talking until almost 5. It was an incredibly fulfilling day for both of us. It brought relief where I didn't know we needed it. A day well-lived is a good day. At one point in our conversation, Madi was talking about how nice it was not to be throwing up and having headaches anymore. She said something about how nice it was to eat something without being afraid of throwing it up again. She said something along the lines of "happiness is much better than fear." Even in my groggy 4am state, I still found that really profound.
So that's our goal from now on: being happy and grateful instead of being afraid. Fear is just as pernicious as this stupid brain cancer we are facing, so we need to be done with it. More later.
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