Answers for Alex: Update 12/26/14

Right now, I have two contracted pieces to write which are due in less than a week. That’s something I’ve waited for, for three years or more. Yet, the only thing I think about is Alex and his story. Someone…somewhere has got to give a voice to him, and with the help of his mother, I hope to do just that.

 

This is how I remember Alex.

I know, I know; he’s a lot bigger than this now. Yet most of the time I spent with him was when he was about this age. Alex was curious about everything, and this often got him into trouble. He was also very loving and creative. Our favorite game to play with him was house. My friend, Jessica, and I would hide in the playhouse, and he would come knock on the door to “dom ober for a beesit”[come over for a visit]. As I mentioned in a previous post, he had difficultly pronouncing words, like most preschoolers do. He couldn’t say my name very well, but he had a an aunt, Makayla, so he often called me Ma-taya.

I got to visit Alex today. He’s changed so much from the little boy I knew. He’s tall and handsome. He dreams of being a wrestler someday, and I honestly believe he has a shot because this young man is a fighter. Alex is down to 70lbs now, and he continues to shake. He has seizures hourly, and still this family has no diagnosis–no answers. But he’s still fighting–even though his opponent is nameless, Alex is still fighting. He’s finally out of PICU, and in a room. While he still has fluid in his lungs, his oxygen levels are improving. Melissa says that his doctors are hoping to get him into pulmonary soon and eventually into rehab. Still, she understands and explains that this will be a long, difficult, and slow road to recovery.

Today was day 42. Alex still hasn’t eaten anything since November 13, and he had to spend Christmas away from his family this year as the floor on which he is doesn’t allow visitors under the age of 16. His younger sister, Amelia, has had a difficult time with this as she tries to understand why she didn’t get her Christmas wish of having her big brother home.

I can’t imagine what this family is going through, to feel so helpless to only rely on faith and hope. I’m no doctor; I can’t diagnose or treat Alex. But I can pray, and I can write. I will do all I can to raise awareness about this kind, funny, loveable young man and to help his family during his recovery.

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