Keeping Me Humble

So today was the day I have been dreading for the past 2 weeks.  We had several appointments at Children's Hospital today for Caleb.  Here is what our schedule looked like...

9am - Physical Therapy
10:30am - Radiology
11:30am - Appointment in Plastics

Now for any young child this would be quite a challenge, but Caleb is only 4 months old, therefore I knew that for mom it would be a juggling act to try to keep him fed and changed and forget the normal morning nap he takes...that was out the window.

Well, all said and done, appointments went well.  Caleb was fitted for his helmet and will get it on the  day before Thanksgiving.  If you didn't know, Caleb has what is called torticollis, which is basically the tightening of neck muscles.  He has been seeing a physical therapist for about 2 1/2 months now and is getting much better.  We were told today that he will probably finish up in about a month and a half with his physical therapy! YAY for that!

But...the torticollis caused him to look to his left ALL THE TIME when he was really young, which in turn caused the left side of his head to become flattened.  It was bad enough for our pediatrician to recommend that he wear a helmet.  So today we also got fitted for his helmet. 

By the time we were leaving the hospital, Caleb was tired, hungry and very cranky and so was I.  We had a 15 minute trek back to our car in the parking garage and we both just wanted to get home.  I was in an awful mood when I walked by something that brought me back to Earth.  There was a sweet little girl who was giggling in the hallway playing with an electronic dog that she was moving with a remote control.  She couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.  You see, this wasn't just a cute little girl.  This little girl had cancer because most of her hair had fallen out.  I quickly teared up and had to turn away and walk in the other direction.

Yes, my son has a flat head.  Yes, he has to wear a helmet.  But who cares.  This is something that can be fixed.  It's not life threatening.  It's not going to cause him any severe damage.  He will be okay.  He will grow up.  He will be a healthy, happy little boy.  But this little girl will not go home tonight.  She won't go home tomorrow night or the next night.  She might never go home at all.  She will probably live a lot of her life in that hospital trying to get better.  And by God's grace she will get better.  But, she might not.  I am so grateful to God for the healthy little boy I have. 

There is nothing more real than a child with cancer to keep you humble.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.  I will be spending a part of it with family from out of town so I won't be posting again until Monday.

God Bless You!
The Stearns Family