My cousin's son was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. From what I understand, they saw some symptoms back in January that worried them, but it took several months to get into a specialist. Once they saw the specialist, things moved pretty rapidly. He was diagnosed one week and was scheduled for surgery the next. In surgery, they worked to identify the type of tumor and to remove as much of it as possible.
It was interesting telling the kids that their cousin and friend had a brain tumor. Jared is only ten which makes him just old enough for Julian to both play with him and idolize him. My kids are familiar with cancer since my mom just spent a year in her own battle with it. We told them there was a possibility that the tumor could be cancerous. They didn't seem as scared as I imagined they would be. Thankfully, they didn't get to see the full range of what cancer can do to a person since my mom lost her hair and then got better. All they were worried about was going to get him a get well present.
The day of the surgery, I took Schroeder and Maggie to the hospital while the other kids were in school. Here was our conversation.
S, "Where are we going, Mom?"
M, "To Riley Hospital to see Jared because he is having surgery today."
S, "But Riley is dead."
M, "Yes, Grandma's dog named Riley did die, but this is a hospital called Riley."
S, "Oh, is it the hospital with the stickers?"
(I'm trying to remember which hospital had stickers.)
M, "No, we've never been to this one. This is a hospital just for kids." (I'm thinking how thankful I am that we've never had to go there.)
S, "Oh, then they'll have lots of toys there, right?"
M, "Ummmm, probably not in the waiting room where we'll be."
Our conversation continued once we arrived.
S, "Wow, this place has a lot of corners."
S, "Hey, mom, where is Jared at?"
M, "Oh, sorry man, Jared is in surgery. We are just coming to sit with his family."
S, "But you said we were coming to see Jared."
Yep, I did. Whoops.
When we went to the bathroom down the hall.
S, "Oh, is Jared down here?"
M, "Not sure dude, this place has a lot of corners :)."
As we were leaving, my dad helped us find our car and we rode down the glass elevator in the main lobby.
Grandpa, "Do you see all the water down there Schroeder?"
S, "Yep, we could kick in this glass, jump down and go swimming."
S, "And what if we swam naked!? Ha!"
I think I was paying extra close attention to his comments due to the situation. Maybe they wouldn't seem as sweet or cute if he wasn't saying them in light of a visit to the hospital to wait out Jared's surgery.
Ultimately, Jared's tumor was found to be benign. He was in surgery for 30 hours! We had no idea that they would take that long. They were able to get all of the tumor. You can imagine how big and complicated it was if it took that long. Jared is doing well, but is still in the hospital undergoing physical therapy to help him recover.
It was interesting telling the kids that their cousin and friend had a brain tumor. Jared is only ten which makes him just old enough for Julian to both play with him and idolize him. My kids are familiar with cancer since my mom just spent a year in her own battle with it. We told them there was a possibility that the tumor could be cancerous. They didn't seem as scared as I imagined they would be. Thankfully, they didn't get to see the full range of what cancer can do to a person since my mom lost her hair and then got better. All they were worried about was going to get him a get well present.
The day of the surgery, I took Schroeder and Maggie to the hospital while the other kids were in school. Here was our conversation.
S, "Where are we going, Mom?"
M, "To Riley Hospital to see Jared because he is having surgery today."
S, "But Riley is dead."
M, "Yes, Grandma's dog named Riley did die, but this is a hospital called Riley."
S, "Oh, is it the hospital with the stickers?"
(I'm trying to remember which hospital had stickers.)
M, "No, we've never been to this one. This is a hospital just for kids." (I'm thinking how thankful I am that we've never had to go there.)
S, "Oh, then they'll have lots of toys there, right?"
M, "Ummmm, probably not in the waiting room where we'll be."
Our conversation continued once we arrived.
S, "Wow, this place has a lot of corners."
S, "Hey, mom, where is Jared at?"
M, "Oh, sorry man, Jared is in surgery. We are just coming to sit with his family."
S, "But you said we were coming to see Jared."
Yep, I did. Whoops.
When we went to the bathroom down the hall.
S, "Oh, is Jared down here?"
M, "Not sure dude, this place has a lot of corners :)."
As we were leaving, my dad helped us find our car and we rode down the glass elevator in the main lobby.
Grandpa, "Do you see all the water down there Schroeder?"
S, "Yep, we could kick in this glass, jump down and go swimming."
S, "And what if we swam naked!? Ha!"
I think I was paying extra close attention to his comments due to the situation. Maybe they wouldn't seem as sweet or cute if he wasn't saying them in light of a visit to the hospital to wait out Jared's surgery.
Ultimately, Jared's tumor was found to be benign. He was in surgery for 30 hours! We had no idea that they would take that long. They were able to get all of the tumor. You can imagine how big and complicated it was if it took that long. Jared is doing well, but is still in the hospital undergoing physical therapy to help him recover.
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