Hope for Baby Bennett: Best 3 days ever

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Best 3 days ever

Bodie has officially proclaimed the last 3 days the “Best 3 days ever.”

And with good reason.

This morning, he had his follow up appointment with ENT and Speech Therapy to look at his vocal cords and evaluate progress in swallowing. Although the scope itself was SO uncomfortable for Bodie, the results were fantastic! They were shocked to see the improvement in just a month!

He is now cleared to drink as much as he wants of all thickened liquids. We need to thicken to a Level 2, which is similar to a nectar consistency. It’s slightly thicker than water.

AND he’s cleared for even thin liquids, as long as I’m observing him, he sips (no gulping or choking) and takes it slowly! And he needs to make sure to give himself a break if he feels himself starting to aspirate.

This means, HE CAN DRINK DIET COKE! (He has to sip it slowly and make sure I’m observing, but even so, he gets to drink it again!)

(No, please don’t lecture me on the dangers of Diet Coke. Read the room peeps – not the time or place for that lecture. The boy loves himself some Diet Coke and has been so sad that he hasn’t been able to drink it. The smile on his face today was pretty epic!)

AND he can eat ice cream again! (Ice cream melts to a thin liquid, so as long as he wasn’t permitted thin liquids, he wasn’t allowed to eat ice cream.)

He celebrated by double fisting with Diet Coke and a McFlurry from McDonalds!

The best part is that his group of best buddies (we call them “The Quad Squad”) sent him a picture of them a few hours later, also double fisting sodas and McFlurries from McDonalds to celebrate Bodie!

I mean, how can you ask for better friends than this?!? Bodie misses them so much and can’t wait to get back home to be with them again!

The other reason the last 3 days have been so fantastic is that, in addition to the 3 miles he walked on Sunday night, last night we went on another walk. I let Bodie lead the way, and he chose several Pokémon routes. In the excitement of following the routes, we may or may not have totally gotten lost and ended up in the next town over! All told, we walked over 5 miles and he did AMAZING! He’s never been able to walk far like that before.

In a summer with a lot of rough moments, we’re so excited to have some really great ones to celebrate!

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The Chosen Mothers by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint Gerard."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly" smiles God, "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But, does she have patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has it's own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she believes in you." No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps -"Selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them." She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side." "And what about her patron Saint?" asks the angel. His pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."