What I Realized Today

Sometimes the reality of Brady’s illness  leaves my mind for a day or two. Sure, cancer is on my mind in one way or another every day, but there are days when it is just a fleeting thought.

Then there are days like today when I’m able to truly look at my Brady Andrew and grasp the miracles that God has worked in his life. Today I watched Brady do things that brought tears to my eyes and a song of praise to my heart.

Brady was evaluated today in Rochester in order to see if he would qualify for Physical Therapy services now that he is almost preschool age. He had to have a psychological and physical therapy evaluation. I had to meet with a social worker to complete his social history. The appointments lasted 2 1/2 hours and Brady boy was a true champ throughout.

Sweet Brady did a great job on each piece of the evaluation. The only area of concern that we have is the PT part, but even in that area Brady seems to be doing quite well. We won’t know if he qualifies or not for a few weeks.

For me though, it wasn’t about how well he did with the tasks (although I was pretty proud:) I was just in awe of how comfortable he was with the social worker, psychologist, and PT. He had never met these people, and he interacted with them in such a cute, comfortable way. The “old Brady” of a year and a half or so ago, would have clung to me, refused to talk, and cried his eyes out if anything was difficult for him. This was the Brady that was suffering, scared, and unsure of all that was around him. We will never know what kind of pain he was in before his diagnosis, but looking back, it’s hard not to realize that his clingy behavior was because he was hurting.

Today I was in awe of the physical healing in Brady’s life, but even more so, the emotional healing. Brady is a confident, secure boy now. God has restored his spirit and allowed him to blossom socially. To think of all he has been through and all of the times he has had to be vulnerable at the hands of nurses and doctors. I’m amazed at how far he has come.  I am so thankful  for that healing.

After the long morning of appointments, Brady and I went to Perkins for lunch. The other patrons must have thought I was a little bit smothering, as Brady and I sat right next to each other and I just snuggled him throughout all of lunch. The waitress brought him a green balloon before we left and he was so excited.

He held it tightly in his hands even as he fell asleep in the van on the way home.  I knew this balloon would become a hot commodity in our house when we got home. Boy, was I right.

A riot ensued with 4 small children screaming, pushing, and shoving all to get their hands on that balloon. After trying my best to encourage them to take turns, I knew I was fighting a losing battle, and that the balloons days were numbered.

Just as I was about to grab the scissors from the drawer and pop that balloon into oblivion, I got a better idea. I texted Matt and asked him to stop at the pharmacy on the way home and pick up 4 helium balloons.

30 minutes later, my knight in shining armor arrived. Thanks honey…crisis averted!