Am I an adult now?

I’m an adult now.
The journey getting here for the boys was an incredible one. I think not knowing the full story was probably the best thing for me. I had no idea how sick Rafiki is. For my gorgeous two-year old boy to not even ask to get out of bed is a pretty good indication of his state. He is weak and has trouble standing. He is uncomfortable and scared.

Rafiki was in surgery for his bone marrow test when I got to the hospital. Patrick went into the recovery room where he got on the gurney and held him tight. Rafiki saw me but I am sure it did not register that I had come from the states to be at his side. I tried to keep my distance a bit. Of course that was incredible hard as all I wanted to do was hug and squeeze him.

By this time, we had a pretty good idea that it was Leukemia. We just weren't sure what kind and at what level it was. The good news is that Rafiki’s is the most common kind, which is called “A.L.L.” His blood cell counts were all relatively good. The news that shocked me was how long the treatment is going to be. After the first month of intensive chemotherapy, he will have to be on treatment for an additional three years.

I was just thinking, do you become an adult when you buy a house? Get married? Have a child? Nope. I think it is being faced with the illness of a child. Not only will this be a test of our parenthood but us as individuals.

Thank god for Patrick and his brilliance.