Two Goodbye Celebrations

When the children leave the hospital, child life has a good bye celebration.  I was making one last trip to the Ronald McDonald House to bring back our things when I ran into Meg, head of child life.  I told her I would be right back and we could have the celebration.  She apologized and said she could not make it because she was in the middle of a bereavement.  That was when I noticed what she was carrying in her hands.  She had a clay mold of a hand imprint that was not even dry yet.  This was just like the ones made of a new baby's hands, but instead of welcoming a new child into the world this family was saying goodbye.  I pray for this family and the other families who have lost their children here. 

This was a reminder of how fortunate we are to have made it this far.  Graft vs host disease is ugly and horrible and is the cause of death of so many BMT patients.  Aaron was given an 80% chance of survival.  I asked the doctor recently if his chances have improved since we have made it this far.  He said no.  Aaron's chances of survival are no better today than when we arrived three and a half months ago.  We celebrate him leaving the hospital and making steps toward recovery.  We don't let one day go by without appreciating our time together.  We know that this fight is far from over.