Rowan’s Birthday 10-28-12
So on Saturday we went to Rowan’s birthday party at the
Disney Hotel in the Cinderella Ball Room.
The room was decorated so nice and the buffet was great. They had one set of buffet tables for
adults and the other set was for the kids. The kid’s table was lowered to kid size and the buffet was
all special kid food.
Perfect.
Scott and I introduced ourselves to the friends and family
of Rowan’s parents. Most of the
people were from California and friends of Rebecca’s family or family on
Rebecca’s side. Rebecca grew up in
California so these were old friends of hers from way back. This was the first time for many of
them to meet Chuck (Rowan’s Dad) and to meet Rowan. All the kids were excited to meet Rowan and spend time with
her. They were all so
darling. Rebecca’s cousin (Summer)
and her good friend (Mary) set up and made the schedule for games and such for
the kids. They did a fabulous
job. The kids had so much fun.
The cake was beautiful! A princess castle with all of the princesses on it. There were flowers all around the
bottom. When they brought the cake
in the 4 ladies who worked on it were all there. They were very proud and rightfully so. It was beautiful and delicious!
Rowan arrived a little late because she was napping. It was so worth it. She was such a sweetie giving out hugs
and kisses to everyone. She was so
giving and sweet.
At one point I started to cry because it was so good to see
Rowan and see her doing so well.
Chuck came over to see if I was alright. It was just so emotional for both Scott and myself. I cried a couple of times. Scott had to leave the room a couple of
times to pull himself together.
Rowan wanted to make sure her mommy got one of those flowers
at the bottom of the cake. She
gave away a bunch of flowers to the little girls and who ever wanted one. She posed for pictures. She was just the best little birthday
girl. She had on a beautiful
princess dress and in her goodie bag was a tiara that went perfect with her
dress. She and I sat and did arts
and crafts for a while. That was
fun. She finally asked her Daddy
if she could go outside. Chuck
took out side for a little bit and then she was back and taking it all in. I was afraid that she was going to be
overwhelmed by it all. She only
knew a handful of people. Most of
them were new to her. But she did
great! She had a fabulous
time.
I met Rowan’s Grandma and Grandpa who have moved to be
closer to Rowan to help with her treatments. Or to help give Rebecca a break now and then. It is so much work caring for a child
who is in this situation. The
treatment makes them pee a lot and makes them thirsty and this makes them pee more. Night time is never a solid sleep
time. Getting up every two hours
is just the norm or maybe even more often. It’s so great that her parents were willing to move to give
them the support that they need so badly.
We have been there and the sleep deprivation is so difficult. You still need to be on your toes to do
blood draws, give meds and other normal stuff too. The lack of sleep drains you so much.
Grandpa made me feel real good when he told me how much
Rowan loves the Panda Pillow Pal we gave her. It was one of Kathryn’s and I felt we could give one up so
Rowan could enjoy it. It made my
heart so happy to know that she really loves it.
They didn’t get a chance to open presents at the party so
they took them all back to the hotel room and opened them later. Some of the people from the party
joined Rowan and family in opening presents.
Scott and I had gone back to our hotel to sit by the pool
and relax. I was sitting there
listening to the children play and reading my book when a man said to me that
my book must be really good since I was smiling and giggling. I was enjoying the book. I went over to him and his wife and
talked with them for a long time.
I shared with them what the book was about and why I was reading it. “Closer Than You Think” is the title
and it is all about people who have connected with loved ones who have passed
and how to connect with loved ones who have passed. It’s about looking for signs like the snowflake I talked
about. I told them about Kathryn
and they shared a couple of stories with me. They lost a daughter at age 15 due to a drug overdose. A cocktail of Mom and Dad’s
prescription drugs. Oh the pain
that would bring. The man also
shared with me about a visit he had from his dead Dad. He said his Dad appeared and scared his
wife half to death. But he and his
Dad had a 30 minute conversation.
They both said that our loved ones are here with us all of the
time. They also shared many of
their vacations and such with me.
Just a nice older couple.
So today we were leaving and we went over to Rowan’s hotel
to say good-bye and drop off the prepaid mailer box I got for them and the
packaging tape. Rowan was showing
us her presents. I was talking to
Rebecca and telling her that when she reads the inside of the book that is
about the fish stealing the hat from the whale the name Christy McDanold is
Richard’s girlfriend’s mom. I
wanted to make sure she knew Christy gave that book to Rowan. She didn’t recognize this gift. I described the other gifts we had
brought and she said I don’t remember seeing any of these. Chuck didn’t remember any of them
either but he did remember a gift that could have been books and a little box
too. That was it! He looked around and found it still
wrapped up. Scott and I took this
as Kathryn’s doing. Why would our
gift be the only one that didn’t get opened the night before? We had made the plans at the party to
come by in the morning. Kathryn
was watching and listening and made sure that gift was not found or opened
without us there. So, we had the
pleasure of watching Rowan open her gifts from us. Chuck put on her little hat
we bought her. A stocking cap with
Minnie written on the front and of course the red sparkly bow and little black
ears on top. It fit and looked
very cute. Rebecca really liked
the books and Rowan liked the stickers and the beads to make a necklace. She said, “Grandma can help me make a
necklace.” She was pretty excited
about that. Rebecca and Chuck gave
us one of the music boxes that were part of the centerpieces for the
tables. It is Disney with many
characters on it. The characters
are playing in a band and Mickey is the conductor and he sits in a snow
globe. I was really surprised to
get this beautiful gift along with a darling photo of Rowan in a frame.
On the plane I talked to a lady. We shared stories about heath care and having to be there to
take care of your loved ones. I
told her about finding my Dad on the floor of his hospital room naked and
laying and a puddle of pee. I
stopped by on my way to work and had to call in and get coverage. It was a terrible thing. I would not allow his night nurse to get
near him as he was afraid of this man who apparently was mean to him all night
according to his roommate. I
talked to his superior and wrote a letter. No patient should fear the ones they are relying on to take
care of them. Kathryn was afraid
of one of her nurses (an RT) who was rough with her. We never let this woman in her room again. Immediately during her shift we had her
removed from Kathryn’s case. We
told them not to let her step foot in Kathryn’s room because she had really
upset Kathryn. We didn’t even want
her to peek in the room. You have
to advocate for your loved ones when they are in the hospital. Trust is not something I have much of
after dealing with my Dad’s stuff and Kathryn’s stuff. There are many good nurses and doctors
but it only takes one to blow it all up.
We have had a few bad apples over the years and that is enough to never
trust again. The lady on the plane
has a son who had heart surgery for a bad valve at 30 years old. They had a schedule so someone was with
him 24/7 while he was in the hospital.
Good idea! He will have to
have this surgery all over again in 15 years. They are hoping that the surgery will be less invasive by
the time he must have it done again.
We are home now and happy to be here. I will continue to read my book. I’m almost done with it. I will continue to look for signs from
Kathryn and talk to her more. We
all need to continue to pray for Rowan.
She is doing great but the tumor isn’t gone. So prayers are very important.
Oh, I didn’t mention that they had Rowan tested to see where
she was with her cognitive abilities thinking she would qualify for Special
ED. No she doesn’t qualify. I can see that. She is very bright. She listens well, speaks well, can read
her own name, follows directions well and is probably a little ahead of some 4
year olds. She is mature for 4 as
far as I can see. Very well
mannered and very sweet. Getting a
hug from Rowan makes you feel al warn and fuzzy. Love it!
Well, good night.
I have a very busy week ahead.
I will be tutoring in the evenings Mon through Wed and fit in pumpkin
carving, the gym, walking Princess and maybe some house cleaning.