Dear Friends and Family,
Today after work I was ordered by my “girls” to go to Woodland rather than come to the hospital, as is my usual routine. “We want some girl time, Dadder,” Jayna explained on the phone.
Nancy had a slightly different explanation: “Jaret’s been alone for several days. He needs you more than I do. Isn’t there a football game on TV tonight?”
Nancy was right; it was time for a trip to the mountains. Jaret met me at the door of the house, which is somewhat unusual for him.
“Hi, Dad. Did you have a hard day at work?”
“Pretty busy, Jaret. I’m sorry to be getting here later than expected.”
“That’s okay. The game doesn’t start for twenty minutes.”
“Who’s playing?”
Over the last month, watching a football game with Jaret has become part of our Woodland “routine.” We both anticipate and cherish the experience no matter what time I arrive home from work or the hospital. The teams don’t really matter. The score doesn’t matter either. What matters is the illusion of normalcy. After all, I’m usually snoring (loudly I’m told) by the second quarter. (I also come to Woodland more often these days since it is Christmas break at Westminster College and Jaret is home continuously for the next several weeks.)
“Dad, guess what?”
“What?”
“I already took out the trash and watered the plants. You didn’t have to remind me. I even remembered the laundry that Emmy didn’t do yesterday. And since you’re working so hard, I did the dishes, too.”
Jaret beamed and so did I. (With a normal child, news of this sort would be a pleasant surprise, but with Jaret and his unique challenges, such actions are major.)
“Thanks, Jaret.”
“I want to do my part, Dad. How else can I help?” Jaret walked over and kissed my bald spot. (I can’t help but wonder if it feels as good to Nancy when I kiss her head as Jaret’s kiss did to me.)
“Jaret, you’re already helping more than I could have imagined. Mom will be proud.”
“Oh, I forgot to ask. How is Mom today? Did they find anything out?”
“Actually Jaret, I was just about to tell you some really good news. It’s taken ten days, but they finally figured out what germ Mom has in her body. The biopsy of her colon shows CMV virus.”
“Is CRV bad?”
“CMV, Jaret. Any infection Mom gets is potentially bad, but the doctors believe their medicine will kill the CMV virus. We’ll see how everything works in the next couple of days. And guess what else? They also think the CMV virus is the cause of Mom’s fevers. What that means is that if Mom has any GVH, it is mild. I really hope they’re right.”
Jaret was listening intently and his eyes were glassy like mine. Though he often has difficulty finding words, he has a deep love of his mother. He welcomed my hug with open arms. “Jaret, you need to know that Mom will be very excited to hear what you’ve been doing at the house. She’ll be just as excited as we were when we learned about the CMV. Again, thanks for everything you do for your mother and me.”
Summary: Even Jaret has stepped up in our struggle through these difficult times.
Excitedly yours,
Winnie