The Bug

Mike and I both had a cold last week. It is amazing how bad a stupid cold can make you feel. It only lasted a few days, but all I wanted to do was sleep the whole time. Of course I couldn't; I still did everything as normal, I went to gym class with Kelsey, got to work in Braden's class and had lots of soccer practices. But, after I felt better, it made me wonder how Brooklyn really feels every day. She is usually always in a good mood and ready for anything. Now, that isn't to say that she doesn't get feisty or stubborn with the rest of them, but for what she's going through, she always acts like everything is fine. Whenever I ask her how she's feeling, she will say, "I'm teeling tine." Every once in a while, she will say, "I'm not teeling great Mom" but those times are rare. So I wonder, does she really feel bad every day, but she still goes on about her way like I did when I had a cold? Or, does she really feel okay? I can't imagine all the drugs that we are pumping into her right now would make her feel normal, although, it's been so long since she knew what normal feels like, that maybe she has a "new" normal. My parents are out of town this week, so we brought all the kids with us to church on Sunday. It was the first time Brooklyn has been able to go to church since she was diagnosed back in January. We didn't want her to go into childcare, just to try to prevent germs from other little 3 year olds, so we brought her into church with us. She was incredibly quiet during the service and at the end of church while the band was playing, Mike was holding her on the chair in front of her and she was just listening very intently, trying to sing along and even held her hand up for awhile. It was incredible to see such a little girl feeling so moved and so close to God. Mike and I are not really "hand raisers" and there aren't a ton of people at our church that are, so to see her do it was so sweet. I know she has a special connection with God and He is holding her through this tough time in her life. Monday morning, Kayla woke up sick. She got all ready for school and then went and threw up. So, it was quite a juggling act to keep her home and keep the other kids away from her. I really didn't want anybody else to get sick so I wouldn't let the girls hang out with her during the day. Brooklyn was so upset about it. She is so used to playing with Kayla when she is home that she didn't understand why she couldn't. She kept pouting and saying, "Everybody is hurting my teelings." Kayla stayed home again today, although she was feeling much better and so far no one else has gotten sick. Brooklyn had a spinal tap this morning. It is such a treat to walk in to the surgery center with her because all the nurses just love her! We walk in and everyone says, Hiiii Brooklyn! and gives her high-5's and smiles. She did a great job once again and woke up happy after her anesthesia wore off. We got home and hung out with the other kids the rest of the afternoon. Watching her go through so much for so long really puts our little colds or flu bugs into perspective. The best part is that we're all getting better.