Anyway, we walked in to his office, and were met by his NP, Jean. Her mouth gaped open and she said, "Haley, is that you?" She's kind of new to his practice, so she's only ever seen Haley really sick. She gave her a big hug and told her how great she looked.
Soon we were called in to a room to wait for Dr. H. When he finally came in, he had the most shocked look on his face. He looked like he wasn't sure who he was actually seeing. Then he broke out in a big grin. Over and over he told Haley how great she looked. Then he asked her about her symptoms, and she answered each question by telling him that everything was better. "Headaches?" "Better." "Leg pain?" "Better." "Back pain?" "Only incisional." Again, he looked stunned. He said that he wished that the nurses at the hospital could see her now. He even suggested that some day when we are in the area that we stop by and walk down the hall of one of the floors to let them see her!
The night before the appointment, we had decided to make him a cheesecake. A baker, I'm not, so we called Kevin's wife, Hailee, who is a fabulous baker. She offered to come over to our house to help us. Needless to say, we were grateful, as it had been a long day at work for her and we really did not know what we were doing. We whipped up an Irish Cream cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Ganache. It turned out perfectly!! I packed it on ice for the trip and we presented it to Dr. H. He was floored and very grateful. I warned him not to drive after eating a piece of it! (Ha Ha)
Here it is. Believe me, it looked (and smelled) even better in person!
Also, Haley had written a very heartfelt thank you card, which she gave him along with two books that she picked out especially for him. Both books have been a tremendous support and comfort to her during the years of illness. One is called, "The Red Sea Rules" and the other is the autobiography of Joni Earickson Tada, who was paralyzed as a teenager. She told him that she hopes they will inspire him as well.
It's kind of strange to say goodbye to Dr. H. I told him that we are so thankful for the way he uses his gifts to help people with EDS. As I am due to graduate in less than two weeks, I can only imagine how rewarding it must be to help sick people as he has. Of course, I will probably never help anyone to the magnitude that he has. but, still, I can imagine. He gave us big hugs, and we all posed for a picture. We all thought that his eyes were a little misty. Here he is with Haley.
Doesn't she look great? Of course, she still struggles with having very little endurance, and needs to rest a lot. If she gets too tired, she shakes and has a lot of pain (darn it!). He also thought that she should take an antibiotic for her incisions, which are a little angry. Our prayer is that she will continue to improve. Our family has been through quite an ordeal for a very long time, but God has always been walking with us through it. That cannot be denied.
As we were leaving, he gave me one last hug and said, "Thanks for being such a great mother." That made me smile!! I hope that after he was done seeing patients, he had a cup of tea (I just imagine that he is a tea drinker) and a big piece of cheesecake, read Haley's card, and said a prayer of gratitude for the lives he has touched and changed. I may write him a long letter explaining how he has been used in Haley's life.
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