I realise that this breaks my usual rule about not putting personal photos on KP, but the relief I feel compels me to do so. Please forgive the transgression. Without delving into details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024:
Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries).
Even opening presents was an exercise in pain management.
Xmas 2024
With cousins at the in-laws, a clean bill of health and his spirit intact.
Thanks for the update, so good to see the contrast.
Wow. I am speechless. Beautiful photos (all of them!)
Miracles.
Thanks.
Cheers Ele. I am thankful for your decency.
Angels wear surgical garb and have their own families Bless them.
What a lovely young man he looks to be. Heart rending seeing the scar, but seeing him a year later looking so healthy & well is wonderful.
Di: The scar will fade and he does not seem to have PTSD but is acutely aware of what he went through and what it represents. Good news is that he compares scars with the old man and has major empathy for those who suffer. I think that he will be a good NZ/US citizen wherever he winds up. Cheers!
He certainly will be!
The scar itself looks very neat & quite faint in the photos. Being so young it will most likely become almost unnoticeable with time.
Although he is a bit young yet to appreciate the old guy’s wisdom, I have already used the “chicks will dig it” line on him. He just thinks that I am a weirdo. His main concern is that the metal in his sternum may be a vulnerable point in contact sports. The surgeons assure that it will not be. Buckle up for 2025!