Visiting Hospital Friends

Today started out pretty rough. I woke up and went to the bathroom and then heard a very angry Dawson say "MOMMY! Come get me down!". I have never heard him that upset in the morning. I told him I was in the bathroom and will come soon. He doesn't have a ladder on his bunk bed for Gabriel safety issues, but he often just climbs down himself anyway. I came out to find him stomping down the hallway, yelling at me. I told him to calm down and talk to me. His head dropped and he said "Dawson is sad". Then he got that look back on his face again and said "No, Dawson is ANGRY! And sad."  He came back to my bed and we cuddled. I asked him if he had a dream and he said yes. He calmed right down when we cuddled and he said "thank you mommy, I love you". He's so sweet!

I had plans to go to a friend's house, an hour away and help her take her little guy out and about. I gave Dawson a couple hours of time to himself and then showed him the pics from our last visit there and asked him if he wants to go there or stay home. He chose to go and insisted on it each time I asked, so we went and he had no issues the entire day! It's always hard to tell, some days he won't have any defining moment and he'll have a rough day, but then mornings like these happen but he is ok after some reassurance.

I started driving my car again, it's so weird not having the van, but the air conditioning is nice to have, which is only in the car. It's so low and it's killing my back to reach in and buckle them. Another reminder that I need to prioritize myself and get back there! It's been over a month and she said I'm supposed to go weekly. The joys of sleeping on a hospital bed for a year.

Gabriel found this squishy teether, which Tasha ended up giving him. He's been carrying around ever since! We ended up just staying in, the weather was too warm for Rilee to be out in, but we wanted to visit them anyway.

 They are so adorable.

 Rilee had a liver transplant before he was even 6 months old. You can read up on his progress here. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rileestavig

Both little guys are teething like crazy! Poor things. Rilee got 4 teeth in recently and a couple are barely through and Gabriel did the same this week!

 Dawson decided to hold him. He loved helping out with all his medical stuff. He jumped in and did all the jobs he did for Tyler as well. Pushing the blood pressure machine button, telling him good job and sitting next to him sometimes. He heard that machine and remembered just what it was and hurried over to help.

 Dawson was taking pics for a while

 They were getting a bouncy ride on my legs

 Gabriel was a bit bummed. I wouldn't let him steal the pacifier or pull at his trach or g-tube either. He listened very well though and left his stuff alone when I told him no.

 Having fun playing. Gabriel was laying there being crabby, so I was having Rilee punce on him. They'd both smile so big and then Rilee would just get comfy and cuddle up to his buddy. Gabriel was just looking at that paci. Goofy kid, he's never taken one before!

 Rilee's big brother (who was up north today) has an electric four wheeler. We tried this at RMH last summer and it was a bit scary. His steering skills were not there yet. Since then he's been riding bike and is doing much better. He did great listening to directions, went slow when we had Gabriel on and stopped when a car was coming. It's a housing development, so they don't get many cars back there thankfully.

I forgot to mention on my last post, I went back to Children's hospital again on wednesday. I helped a friend do some filming (that's all I'm allowed to say about it). I met them in the clinic and we went up to the Oncology floor. I saw Tyler's primary nurse in the clinic. She was shocked to see me and gave me a hug. She's so sweet! When we went up to the Onc floor I saw his primary Oncologist! I haven't seen either of them since the day Tyler died. They both came over to the other hospital to visit us, even though they weren't on his case anymore. He saw me and came over to give me a hug as well. These people become like family after a while, especially for the families like us who stayed inpatient more than the average families. Whoever thought I'd actually miss these people. It's so weird. I walk up there and it's just like home. I was just glad that being there didn't mean more torturous treatments. I saw a bunch of staff and a couple families I knew as well. We were there about 2 hours and then we went to the cafeteria for lunch. Oddly enough being in the cafeteria was weirder than the Oncology floor! It's the most unexpected things that will get me. It was great spending time with their family. Their 4 year old, Dallin, has Leukemia and is in maintenance now and is doing great. He's such a cutie too! www.caringbridge.org/visit/dallinstruk