We're Off To See the Wizard

 



The elevator speaks with the sweet voice of a child. The brightly colored art is familiar, like an old friend. While we walk in together, as we have countless times before, she voices, "I am nervous." "I completely understand. After your last experience several weeks ago, of course, you are." She expresses her anxiousness again as the nurse asks questions and takes her vitals. I assure her, "Momma Bear is here. We've got this."

Sadly, this was once the only place, other than home, where she felt comfortable...at ease. The place where people did not stare, question, or judge. A place where she knew she could be among her own kind.
This morning, while getting dressed, the phrase, "We are off to see the Wizard," was streaming through my mind. Go ahead, try reading that again without singing it. We have always thought of Jayde's cardiologist as the wizard of her medical journey. He has opened doors we never could have as a parent and patient. His wisdom has been life-changing for Jayde. Today was no different, as my beautiful girl gained several new doctors. Today her faith in her medical team was restored once more, as she tossed her long red locks knowing there is no place like home. Today we also realized the blankets are really shrinking, or Jayde has really grown.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In A Perfect World, There Would be More Answers and Less Questions

Image
  I am beyond grateful to have my sister, mom, aunt, and mother-in-law's constant contact and their help behind the scenes, being my pillars, supporting me so that I can better support Jayde. It truly does take a village, and these women are my tribe. I know my post from last night was not easy to read. It was challenging to write and share. Yesterday was mentally and emotionally messy. In life, sometimes, you need to create more chaos to clean up the original mess. Jayde is still struggling to process everything happening inside her body right now, but she is mentally doing somewhat better. Witnessing lifeline helicopters flying in and out, at all hours of the day and night, helps keep her current circumstance in perspective. Regardless, we are secure in knowing she is where she needs to be to receive the best possible care. To help everyone following Jayde-Rhiannon's journey better understand how we arrived here, she has lost twenty-four pounds in the last three to four mon
Read more

Allies of Love

Image
While running errands a few weeks ago, I ran into an old acquaintance. We were catching up with the usual pleasantries. “How is your son? Does he have a steady girlfriend?” I replied, “No, but he and his boyfriend have been together for more than a year and a half.” With a horrified and shocked look, followed by a snarky reply, she inquired, “Well, how is that?” I gave a quizzical glare until she finished. On some level, my mind knew where her comment was going, “Having a gay son?”   After what I am sure was an equally, if not more, shocked look in my eyes, followed by an image in my mind, playing out like a seventies cartoon of a baseball hitting her upside the head. I replied with, “I don’t know. What is it like having a heterosexual son?” My response left her speechless, and we soon parted ways.   Since that afternoon, I have not been able to shake the insensitive encounter from my thoughts. I am unsure if it was the underlying tone of her question that offended me. Perhaps it w
Read more