There's one person I rarely mention when I talk about Anthony's journey to transplant, and I'm not really sure why. My mother's cousin, Patsy, is an RN. When we found out we were heading to Omaha, Patsy drove to our house (an hour away) to talk to us, and to offer herself to us. To be honest, it was more like, "You need me. I'm coming." She didn't ask if we needed her, knowing we'd probably tell her no...she just said, "I'll be there."
Mark and I arrived in Omaha with absolutely no clue as to what was going on. It was like we'd been teleported to some foreign place and we had to forge our own path. Patsy arrived a few days after we did, and she was truly a breath of fresh air. Mark left to go home five/six days after we arrived, and I thought I was going to die when he left.
The day Mark left (February 14), Patsy and I were in the hotel room at the hospital, trying to organize (she's great at that) and figure out how best to go about a daily routine. All of a sudden, the fire alarms go off, and a "Code Red" is called. I looked around and said, "If we need to go, we HAVE to grab the lap top!" Patsy looked at me and said, "Um. And Anthony?" DUH. She kept me laughing...and with her awesome humor, kept me sane.
Before she came up, Patsy called, "Do you need anything?" I had just spent a sleepless night with a fussy baby; I didn't want to wake Mark because he had spent the previous night up with Anthony...so I just plopped Anthony in the stroller and we walked, and walked, and walked. So when Patsy asked what I needed, the only thing I could think of was a small coffee pot and Community Coffee. She didn't laugh, didn't ask if there wasn't something more important than that...she just went out and got a coffee pot that percolated straight into a travel mug, and a few bricks of my Dark Roast Community Coffee. I tell you, that first sip was like liquid gold.
Throughout her week in Omaha with me, Patsy made sure I had not only what Anthony needed, but what I needed, too. She found someone to take her to a store so she could buy a proper tub for Anthony. She brought me coffee to Anthony's room every morning. She made me take walks, go to the cafeteria to eat lunch, take pictures, sleep a full night in the hotel, and talk openly about how I felt about what was going on. She listened. She got Anthony to take a few ounces of formula by mouth when all I could do was hold the bottle to his mouth and cry.
If you told Patsy today what a wonderful person she is because of everything she did for us (and believe me, I've told her!), she would probably say, "I did nothing more than was needed." But I've learned something: my family is awesome. When they're needed, they go above and beyond to answer the call. I've seen how wonderfully supportive my family is; and I've learned that we're the exception to the rule...we are NOT the norm. There are so many parents that struggle through the illness of a child without support from anyone. That is so sad.
Because I can't imagine how I would have survived my first week in Omaha if it weren't for Patsy.
11 years ago
