Day 23: Tugging at the Heart

I think I've mentioned what amazing folks work up here on the Children's Oncology floor.

The doctors, the nurses, the Caps (nurse assistant), and the women who clean our room are all exceptional people.

They have to be.

The patient in the room two doors down passed away last night.

And the little 18 month old girl (who has had Leukemia since the age of 4 months) is quite critical.  She and Kean used to wave to each other through her door as we made our laps around the nurses station in the wagon.

It must be exhausting.  I know I couldn't do it.

But tonight we had a choice experience that will give you quite the insight into why we have fallen in love

with many of our caregivers.

Joe-- has been one of Kean's favorite nurses.  Probably because the guy just knows how to make an entrance.

Every time he comes in he starts an imaginary (one sided) gun fight with Keanut.

Bullets are whizzing, he's ducking, he's dodging and my boy loves it and almost always smiles.

We got talking one day and Joe told me that when he was about 14 years old, his mother was diagnosed with

Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer.  She was only given a 25 percent chance of survival and they nearly lost her several times

during the three years she battled the disease.  She surprised everyone and survived.

Sara, his mom, had four children.  And all four of those children spent much of those three years

sitting in the hospital room here at St. Luke's while she fought her fight.

All four of her children are grown now and all of them work right here at the very same hospital.

Joe and his brother are both nurses.  Marvin works in NICU with tiny babies.

And both of his sisters are Respiratory Therapists.  One of them, Sabrina has taken care of Kean during a couple of his

medical procedures.

Joe told his mom about Keanut and how I had "tried" to trim his hair and it still keeps getting matted.

Tonight, she and her daughter, Sabrina showed up to give Kean a real haircut.

I'll post a picture tomorrow of the final product.  He was too exhausted tonight.

We figure it's a good ramp up for when he loses his hair.

They are the neatest family.  Come to find out, Byron is friends with her husband.  What a small, sweet world we live in.