I took Graham into the doctor at the start of the school year because he was having really awful nosebleeds. They started last January and he would have 15 nosebleeds in a week then go a couple weeks with none, then they would come back. I thought it was the dry air and the weather change but when August rolled around and they were still happening and worse then they had ever been I decided to take him in. They checked him for anemia because he had been complaining to me about being cold, in 100 degree weather and it turned out he was anemic. So iron pills and a trip to the ENT to see if he could cauterize his nose. It was only bleeding from one side and one look into his nose confirmed a massive vessel that would easily be taken care of but not in the office because he wasn't cooperating. We scheduled it at surgery center for the end of November and because his ear tubes had fallen out and were sitting in his ear canal they would remove those as well. Everything went well and now Graham won't have to worry if every time he cries or poops or sleeps or walks that he will get a bloody nose. He was starting to get a complex about them and even made up a song about having bloody noses. But, this post isn't actually about Graham, its about Griff.
The morning we had his procedure we all had to wake up and be at the center at 6 am. So at 5am I went into the boys room (side note, Graham now sleeps with Griff in his bunk bed). I woke up Griff first and he popped up wide eyed and said "I know, I know!! Its Grahams surgery day!". He grabbed his clothes and helped me get him dressed faster then if I said, "lets go to chuckee cheese!'. Graham wasn't so happy that morning and pretty much refused to get his shoes on or do anything. It was Griff who knowing what his brother was about to go through started running around and being as silly as he could to distract Graham. He bounced off the walls, talked in funny voices and basically was the most helpful kid of all time. He had Graham laughing so hard he didn't even remember what he was upset about. That was basically how the morning went, he took it upon himself to be Grahams silly distracting and loving big brother. It was magic. After the procedure when Graham was upset and coming out of anesthesia it was Griffin who was able to calm him down and get him to stop crying. He wrapped Graham up in his arms and just held him, it was so sweet. The rest of the day he would come up to Graham and just touch his cheek.
This wasn't the first time he's cared for his little brother but in the last week we have witnessed a jump in emotional maturity from him. He's still running around like a crazy kid getting in all sorts of trouble but I am finally seeing him identify and process other peoples emotions and how he fits into everything. I felt like for the longest time that he didn't really understand how his words and actions affect others, or seemed indifferent to what what going on around him at times. Last night after I kissed him goodnight I stepped on a toy car in his room and tripped. No big deal, but he said to me, "I'm sorry Mom, I should have picked that up. Are you OK?". WHAT? WHO ARE YOU? Or last night at dinner I made homemade mac and cheese and Graham hated it. He said "This is yucky. I don't like dinner". Also, nothing new but then Griffin said, "Mom, I bet that made you feel sad. I LOVE this food.". Again, WHAT? This might seem like not a big deal to you guys, but its huge for us. He makes me proud in so many different ways and now I get to add this to the list.
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| hiking Starr Pass with Sean |
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| Legoland PHX |
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| Seafood date with Mom |
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| Lobster boy |
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