Day 26 | OCTOBER 06, 2021

Good Evening Friends, Day 26, of our new and amazing life !

Today was a beautiful day with Charlie. I arrived at the hospital around 2pm, due to traffic and the rain.

Charlie was awake when I arrived and her usual arm waving always makes me smile

She had another great day in terms of her clinical state, she is able to maintain all her levels on her own.

The first thing she asked me today was how are my boys ? Of course I told her how amazing they are doing and especially now that my sister Marianna and her Fiancé Giuliano are staying with us, the boys are in heaven.

Charlie was a little more quiet today, since they made some changes to her pain meds, from a IV drip to now a oral intake, since she asks for so little pain meds, so she is adjusting, but she was very excited for our daily ritual of reading your lovely cards, the few first ones were from her friends at OFM, she loved to see those! Thank you!

After our Cards, Charlie asked me if I would brush her hair, off course I jumped right on it, but her hair was very tangled , as I started to make my way through the knots, she ask me to grab a female nurses , luckily for her , Maddie today’s nurse is such a kind and sweet person that she said, Charlie, I will give you a Spa experience! And that she did!

She grabbed a waterproof pad, changed the suction hose head , and used a bucket with water, to actually wash Charlie’s hair with warm water and J&J baby shampoo, it was such a sweet moment, Charlie’s face when the warm water touched her hair and scalp was of pure joy, she was in absolutely relax mode , the entire Spa experience lasted almost one hour, Madie , used conditioner, a detangler that I had brought , and a electric detangler brush that worked like a charm ( I will be getting one for the unit, so other female patients, can have their hair detangled without much pain.) it really warmed my heart to see the compassion on Maddie’s action, by washing and brushing Charlie’s hair, that was not part of her “job” , but she did out of compassion and care, I am so thankful for her kindness. Charlie must have felt just for a brief moment, like she was back to normal life, by getting her hair washed .

After that, it was time for me to start asking her some of your questions:) here is what I was able to get from her today :

1. What Food would you like to eat once you leave the hospital?

She said with a smile on her face , BBQ !! And from Mission BBQ or BBQ Exchange

2. What’s one word that would describe how you feel today?

Frustrated

3. How did you pick your kiddos names?

André and I went through a lot of name ideas, but what was very important to us was that their names would be said in Portuguese the same way it is in English, and that they would be short enough, so nicknames would be necessary. Both boys have middle names that pay homage to Charlie’s dad and grandpa.

What are the funniest stories from your pregnancies?

So many, but on Charlie’s last pregnancy with Julien, she sneezed and her water broke , true story !

After the 3rd question, Charlie asked me if she could stop, because she was getting tired, so we did. But rest assured at every visit I will continue to ask her , so we will have way more than 10 questions answered:)

As Charlie was about to take a nap, the speech therapist come in, they had a voice box machine, for her to practice, it is actually very tricky to master to speak on those machines, there are several tricks and pronunciations that has to practice, so after 20 minutes, Charlie had enough, she was indeed frustrated today.

Her frustration is mostly in part, due to the fact she can’t talk. My lip reading skill is poor at best, so she has to keep repeating herself, causing frustration. I am so sorry Charlie .

The end of our visit was very sweet, she was a little uncomfortable, with her bed positioning, so I stood next to her , and caressed her hair , until she fell asleep as I sang her a lullaby that I sang to our boys.

I did have tears in my eyes, as she fell asleep, in a mixture of sadness for her pain, and also frustration for not being able to really offer her a permanent or effective solution for her need to speak.

Tonight, I kindly ask you to please pray for God to give Charlie Patience, she will need a lot of it!

As I get ready to go to bed, I will cherish today’s moments with Charlie. The hair wash was the highlight of her day, and I am so glad I was there to witness it.

Thank you Nurses, for giving some dignity to your patients!

May God Bless You!

André