Little things

Brooklyn woke up in a good mood this morning, even though it was early. I got her dressed and brushed her teeth and she picked flowers to go in her hair to match her outfit. We had a nice ride to the hospital and she convinced me that I should carry her since we didn't have Kelsey with us. She is a good negotiator. :) We were the second people there because it was so early, so we got our pick of toys and games. We read some books and then Megan the music therapist got there. We were super happy to play music and sing songs again with her and Brooklyn even got to play the guitar this time! I am sad though because she got accepted to a school in Chicago to get her post-graduate degree, so she won't be at UC Davis anymore. All of the nurses loved the flowers Brooklyn had picked to wear and she loved to show them off. The last few times we have gone in for her surgeries, they had these little flashlight animals that make noise and she plays with them as she is being put to sleep. But when she wakes up, all she wants it to have the animals back. The animals are just in the surgery room, not in the recovery room, so she is always sad when she wakes up and can't have them. So, last week, I found 3 of the little animals at Bed, Bath & Beyond and so it was great to have them with us today - she got to play with them before she fell asleep and after she woke up! She did great during the surgery and felt good when she got home too. We have appreciated so tremendously the way people have reached out and been so supportive to us during this time. The meals and gifts and prayers have all been so amazing. And also the nurses, volunteers and music therapists (like Megan) who work to make our time in the hospital as comfortable as possible - I am so grateful. About a month ago when we had to go in for chemo & a blood transfusion, we had a little break so Brooklyn & I walked to the Starbucks in the hotel next door. It was when she was still on steroids and so, of course, she wanted pizza. But obviously, at 8:30 in the morning - the hotel wasn't making pizza yet. However, the guy working at the Starbucks counter said he had thought of an idea for her, so he cut a bagel in half and went into the kitchen and got cheese and peperoni and baked it so she could have a pizza. It was so touching and I thanked him for being so kind, but it absolutely made my day. When someone goes out of their way like that, it can mean so much to someone else. He had no idea that she has Leukemia or any of what we were going through, or that having pizza was all that was going to make her happy then, but he did it for us anyway. Just the little things can make such a difference in someone else's day. I hope I can help others in that way and teach my children to have that same desire.