Tribute to Kaper

This weekend we had a fantastic day celebrating our little guy Kaleb at the Labatt Family Heart centre's siblings conference. the day focused on the siblings of our heart kids and gave them a chance (for once) to be the centre of attention and the focus of our appreciation.

It isn't often that we go to Sick Kids for a day of nothing but fun and celebration so to do so for Kaleb was so great! Josh even got into the spirit of things and bought Kaleb a little toy to let his brother know that he loves him. We met with other families who are in a similar situations and enjoyed watching Kaleb enjoy his moment in the sun (until it came time to actually stand up in front of everyone to recieve his medal - at which point his shy side kicked in and he blatenly refused to accept or wear the medal.) Yes, my Kaleb is a Kaper... loves attention and hates it all at the same time. The medal ceremony was beautiful, not a dry eye in the house as sibling after sibling stepped up to recieve their medal of honor for being an appreciated and valued member of each family. Each child had a little bit read to them about how special they are, why they mean so much to their family and how important they are to the family. It's a moment that I have been longing to give to Kaleb, in my heart of hearts I believe each member of the family, child or not, is a valuable member of the medical team and as his brother I wanted Kaleb to know we value him. That the nurses at the Sick Kids Heart center saw this need, and made the move to show these kids how much we appreciate them moved every single one of us to tears; and though he refused to wear the medal in front of anyone I can tell you he wore it with pride the rest of the day and slept with it that night. When I asked him that night what his favorite part of the day was, he replied 'going to the 'hopspital' (spelled as he said it).

This post is about a tribute to my youngest, the strong and beautiful boy who is truly a 'brother in arms' fighting along side Joshua in his battle of the heart. He is a compassionate, gentle and protective little brother who drives him crazy at times but would never let anyone hurt him without stepping in to take a hit himself. He is one of the sweetest most lovable people I know, and his desire to help and show kindness makes this mama so proud.

This is also a post to say thank you to the nurses and social workers at Sick Kids who made this day a reality. You do so much for our kids, all the down and dirty of their care but also the smiles and warmth you bring to them, and on Saturday you took the time to go above and beyond for their brothers and sisters. As the parents, I can promise you. We will not forget all that you have done for our kids. Thank you. It goes without saying that a huge thank you needs to go out to Cardiac Kids for being the sponsor to this really awesome event! Well done!