One thing that has been a constant on my rides back-and-forth from Philly is going over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. I’m not terrified to drive across like some people I know, and I enjoy looking out over the side at the water and ahead of me toward the city. On my left, I watch the ongoing construction of what I believe will be an apartment building. I also enjoyed seeing the Chinese lantern Festival come together in Franklin Park during the last few weeks of April.
We went last week.
I get to see these ongoing changes every time I travel, and I can also see the changes when I go to therapy with Bob once or twice a week. Due to the gaps in the timing of my visits, I see large leaps and gains that he is making in his recovery. I could also see the changes in tiny baby over the past week when he was in the pediatric intensive care unit at Cooper for pneumonia. I wasn’t with tiny baby every second of every day, so he also had big changes over the five days he was there. He chunked up!
I wonder if I’m going to be able to see the same gains and improvements with Bob when I’m with him on a daily basis. Just like I can’t tell that Michael is growing because I see him every day, I KNOW he’s growing because his shoes are getting smaller, the sleeves on his shirts are getting shorter, and his arms reach higher up on my leg when he hugs me.
I am going to miss the ride. It is a tiny bit of peace in an otherwise crazy upside down life that we’re living right now. I’m going to miss seeing the people at Magee day in and day out. Thees individuals have given their lives to take care of others. Not only their patients but the families as well. When they see that I am upset, or overwhelmed by everything going on, Bob’s therapists, nursing staff and other Magee employees go out of their way to try to take some of my burden away. Those people have all made an unbelievable difference in my husband’s recovery and have helped us come together again as a whole family unit. They love Bob, me, Michael, and the tiny baby. Truth be told, especially Michael. It shows in everything they do and say.
So I will miss you my friend, Ben Franklin. But now I will be spending at least a few days a week traveling a lot with a new friend, Walt Whitman. Bob will be doing his outpatient therapy at Magee Riverfront and that’s just over the Walt Whitman bridge. I look forward to this next chapter.
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” Ben Franklin
“Every moment of light and dark is a miracle.” Walt Whitman