She's doing alright

Some of you may remember the story of Wendy, a little girl both D'Arcy and I taught who was diagnosed with leukemia sometime around April. We visited her in the hospital and we were shocked at what we saw. The once rambunctious five year old had been reduced to a wheel-chair bound, energyless little thing who could hardly smile or lift her head. It was heart breaking.

Since then we'd sent pictures and cards back and forth a bit and heard second-handedly that she was living at home but not doing so great. We asked her mother last week if we could come for a visit before we go back to Canada, and set up a date to meet today.

Heading to her house I felt nervous and unsteady, afraid that we would be met with the same lifelessness we had seen in the hospital. I wasn't sure I could take that kind of sadness. What's worse than a sick child, really?

Instead, Wendy was a bouncing, bubbly, and happy girl - happier than I ever remember her back in them Happy Class days. She has gained weight so that she's heavier than she was before, and aside from losing her hair and wearing a mask you would never guess that she's ill.

According to her mother, not all's fine on the health front. Wendy has to eat only boiled foods and everybody has to be very clean and healthy when people come to visit. She can't go to school or interact too much with people. There is a point system that determines her condition (it considers different kinds of blood level counts, etc.) Healthy people have one million points and Wendy has 900. Can this be true? That seems quite discrepant. Maybe her mother meant that healthy people have one thousand points but I can't be sure.


In any case, it was a happy visit for everyone and I'm sorry we didn't come sooner. It looks to me like Wendy will be just fine.