The week started like any other week. I went to work, getting back into the swing of the week and prepping myself mentally for my 3 mile run that night. And then it all changed. With a simple email from my mom telling me that Amanda was bringing Alexander to Seattle Children's Hospital. I immediately freaked out. My mind went to the worst possible scenarios. How could something be wrong with my handsome little man?! He doesn't deserve to feel any kind of pain, and my sister and brother-in-law do not deserve to go through this, to watch their son deal with illness....
So of course my mind was going a million miles a minute. And then another email telling me they were testing for potential diabetes. Still my mind kept going, it wasn't as bad as I had originally made it out to be, but still....this was not something that they should have to deal with.
The next 3 days were spent at Children's Hospital. With the first night being spent in the ICU, Alexander hooked up to an IV and having his blood sugar levels checked every hour. I'm pretty sure the hardest day was the first, at least for me it was. Alexander having IV lines in both arms, being hooked to a machine and all he could do was look to each of us and give the saddest face I'd ever seen. He just wanted us to help him, to take them out of his arms, let him be free. Crying. And we all had to look at him and tell him we couldn't do it. That they were gonna help make him all better. My heart just broke. Over and Over and Over.
After the first day he was able to have the IV's taken out, and we roamed the hospital. Rolling his cars/trucks all over the place. Nurses would laugh and comment that Alexander was quite the roamer! Going ALL over the hospital. He especially loved the Giraffe statues in the hospital. Wanted to be lifted up and touch their noses. During the next few days we all went through a LOT of education. Checking blood sugar levels, counting carbs, insulin injections and the list goes on.
Alexander is home now and everyone is adjusting to the new way of life. And Alex is....Alex. The happy, smiley, laughing, goofy kid we all love. The one that brings more joy than we could ever ask for in our lives. And so he makes it all worth it.
Throughout this whole process I have to say that the thing I'm proudest of is how our family came together. We were all there for each other, as much as we could be. Because I know that there are things that I can't do to make the situation better. No matter how much encouragement we give, support you offer....sometimes there are things that no one else can help you get through. But we can try.
And so with everything that’s happened in the last week with Alexander’s diagnosis, I can’t ignore that there is a new cause that I am determined to devote my time and effort too.
I am still maintaining my fundraising for St. Jude; however, I have decided I can’t wait till the next race to start fundraising for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). So I will be splitting the total campaign effort of $1,500 between St. Jude and JDRF at $750 a piece. I have set up my fundraising page for JDRF and you can now start putting your donations up!
I am so grateful for the amazing family and friends I’ve been blessed with, especially my little man Alexander. And I hope you will take a stand with me and help do all that we can to find a cure. He deserves nothing but the best life that we can give to him, and this is one way that I know I can help support not only him, but Amanda and Nick as well.
I ask that you please support me and more importantly Alexander.
TEAM ALEX ALL THE WAY! SO STRONG!
The link for the website is
http://jdrfevents.donordrive.com/campaign/amybodnar
Love you all
xoxo
Ames
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