joy

One thing I've noticed at the hospital is the joy coming from unexpected places and how inspiring it is. One day I saw a boy who looked like he was recovering from severe burns and had a clear plastic mask over his face. He was teasing his mom and he was laughing his head off and it was so beautiful. Another time there was a girl in a wheelchair who looked like the use of her body was extremely limited who had a beautiful smile when she was interacting with her family and another boy in a wheelchair who was looking off into space peacefully smiling.

I guess in writing this I see that the strength of family plays a part in the joy I saw too. I'm so grateful that we are in an age where we can go through all of this with J.J. and be an advocate for him and journey with him. Even when I was a child in hospital my parents could only come during visiting hours. Of course longer ago we would have just dropped J.J. off at the hospital for weeks or even months. I'm really passionate about families being involved in a child's medical care and how much it can benefit the child and the family, both emotionally and medically.

But back to the joy.... I know I shouldn't be that surprised, I mean all kids have the capacity for joy whether sick/physically limited or not. Still, it's my hope that J.J. will have that same contagious joy and will make the world around him a better place despite (or maybe even because of?) all of the things he has had to go through.