Before the surgery, Joey still went to school and did his afterschool activities. I watched him closely all the time. He can’t run or jump in case the tumor bursts. It’s a pain for him not to run. But he never complained. Sometimes he played swing and built sand castle. Teacher told the kids in the class that he needs a surgery soon and everyone needs to be careful not to touch him. He is the same loud kid in the class.
Joey plays in the string quartet the night before we leave
Joey is an origami genius. He does origami at home every day, even at school. I saw his origami pinned on whiteboard. I brought the origami paper during the recess, so he won’t run around. Kids came to join him. They wanted Joey to teach them how to do it. It ended up half of the class doing origami with him every day during the recess. 
Joey doesn’t want to miss FCAT. He is a kid that loves to compete. He believes that teacher will give him a FCAT harder than others because he is smart.
I brought Joey’s lunch to school and ate with him. Although doctor said he can eat pretty much everything, I still gave him strict diet. He can’t eat something that Chinese believe cancer patients aren’t supposed to have, like sugar, deep fried food, etc.
“Mom, I’m the healthiest kid in the class!”
“Good to know that.”
“Look at their lunch boxes. They are awful!”
He meant he ate the healthiest in the class.
I ached.
We are keeping Joey and your family in our prayers. Abby has come home multiple times all year long with Joey's origami masterpieces. She is always so impressed in his skills! And she likes to talk "violin talk" with him as well. He is such an amazing kid!!
ReplyDeleteWe know full well most of the heartaches you all are going through. Our son has been in and out of hospitals all his life and has had multiple surgeries. It is difficult each and every time. Nate's main specialists are at Shands, but we also travel every 6 months to Houston, TX to visit doctors who specialize in his disease. Although we love and respect our doctors at Shands, sometimes you just have to travel to different hospital systems to get the care centered around what you need. I am very happy you all decided to go to Cincinnati, and I pray that the doctors there will be able to give Joey the best treatment possible.
You are in our prayers. It is both emotionally and physically exhausting to have a child who is "sick". Please let me know if there is anything at all that we can do to help you all through this difficult journey. I know Abby and their entire class miss Joey and are longing for him to be able to come back and make them all smile again!
Thank you, Amber! When we were in Shands, Joey saw the magazine with Nate's big smile on the cover. Abby shared Nate's story in class too. The story of your family gives us great encouragement and strength.
ReplyDeleteI hope Joey can be back to class soon!
Kathy