Bryson Blake continues to hang on by a tenuous thread, much to everyone's surprise.
Gladys Humphrees here.
I wrote a few days ago, to let you know about my little six-year-old boy, Bryson Blake.
As you know, he has been in the hospital. Battling a case of bacterial meningitis that's left him desperately sick, fighting for his life. He's really bad off, yet he continues to fight like a tiger. It's really amazing!
Bryson is still in a coma; doctors are guarded about his chances of a full recovery, or if he wakes up again. Yet his vital signs are (fairly) stable. That's the encouraging news.
I went home to get his tapes and his books. I have been playing them religiously, also have been reading to him. Right now his favorite books are the "Henry Huggins" books by Beverly Cleary, so I have been reading "Henry's Clubhouse" to him. No response; he just lies there, unmoving, unseeing, unfeeling, oblivious to what's going on around him or to him.
It's very discouraging.
The other day (Thursday) was Thanksgiving. I had it here at the hospital, along with several other people who have been camped out at the hospital along with me. Their kids are sick, too, some even worse than mine, if you can believe it.
There's Grant and his wife Helga; their daughter, Simone, who is five, has a rare disease that's threatening her life; she is in total kidney failure, and right now it doesn't look good for her.
Just yesterday Simone "coded" two times, and she's still unstable now; she could code again at any time. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the "Code Blue" call go out again over the loudspeaker, and then see the flurry of activity that often accompanies such events.
Then there's Rico and his wife, Maria; their little boy, Perfecto, who is four, has cancer, and he's dying. They have tried everything possible to help him; yet the little boy's cancer has spread throughout his entire body; and now it's only a matter of time before he passes.
They look tired, drained. They're from Mexico, the parents speak very little in the way of English, and it's heartbreaking to see them crying so much over the fate of their little boy.
The third couple that's with us are Bob and Carole. They are from California; they were coming in on Tuesday, and their daughter, Kinsi, who is seven, suffered a devastating seizure (Kinsi has epilepsy and other medical problems; she's severely handicapped).
They've been here ever since. Kinsi is hanging on, but like the others, she is hanging on by a thin thread.
So I'm not the only one going through this. We have tried to be each other's support system, have been trying to bolster each other up during this trying time. We have been praying for each other, asking God to spare our children.
Because of my son being here, I've not had the chance to start my Christmas shopping. I don't even know if we'll even have Christmas this year because of Bryson being in the PICU. It all depends on if he wakes up or how his outlook manages to manifest itself upon his awakening from the coma. Right now, everything's on hold; it's nothing but a big waiting game.
I will write in here again in a few days; sooner if anything develops. Right now I have to get some coffee; I'm about to fall asleep here. Not much to do here at the hospital except wait, pray, hope for the best.
We have tried to be each other's support system, have been trying to bolster each other up during this trying time. We have been praying for each other
Support and kinship with others truly helps one cope in terrible situations such as this.
