A Child (796 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by ripple (View user info) at 2006-08-02 01:11:26 EDT
I guess you could say that he's small for an eight-year-old, but I'm not particularly well-versed in normal heights of children. When I met him, he was extremely skinny because he didn't like to eat. Later, a dietary specialist suggested that he be supplementally fed by GI tube. After that, he put on some weight. In his house, an IV pole stands awkwardly amidst almost-lifelike trucks and fire engines and construction vehicles, a red fanny-pack lovingly colored and labeled "Mason's Emergency Kit" lies on the floor near his train table.
Mason has light hair and grey-blue eyes that stand out from his pale skin. His arms and legs are very thin, but he usually gets around fine. When he feels well, he drives around outside in a toy ATV, confusing the 'drive' and 'reverse' gears, his parents watching nearby. When he's inside his house, he loves to play with his train set. Well, considering his age, I think 'train set' is a bit of an understatement. The electric train itself runs around the periphery of his microcosm, a miniature city he built from Jenga blocks and models from a hobby shop in town. A myriad of tiny cars and trucks are always lined up in a specific fashion outside buildings with real lighting, constructions workers a scale larger than the city stand perpetually frozen with shovels in their hands. In his city, there are plenty of ambulances and police cars, but there is no hospital. The plastic people in his city never complain of headaches and never need to get MRI scans of their heads. The people in the city never hurt, but Mason does.
About a year ago, Mason was diagnosed with MELAS, a genetic disorder involving his mitochondria. I don't really understand it. I know that some of the symptoms are headaches and seizures and general malaise. I know that Mason displays these symptoms and receives a plethora of medication- from methadone to vitamins- to treat them. All the doctors can do is treat his symptoms; there is no cure.
My mother is Mason's pediatrician. She tells me that he's the first patient he has treated who, at home, is on a feeding tube and intravenous medication. I can't remember exactly why she wanted me to meet Mason, but after the first time I saw him, she said to me, "I know it's hard, but it a very good experience to know someone like Mason."
I agreed automatically, snapshots of his house running through my mind. I wasn't sure- I'm still not sure- how much of the experience I could handle. Since my first meeting with Mason, I have visited him regularly. When the people from the Make-A-Wish Foundation arranged for him to see the fire station in our city, I went with, putting my schoolwork on an indefinite hold. A week or two before that, I wend to Toys-'R'-Us with Mason and his mom, where I bought a set of twelve trucks (at Mason's insistence). Now, when I go visit him almost every weekend, I bring a bag of my very own trucks and we play together. Thanks to Mason's influence, I can now name the various types of construction equipment that see to always be around my neighborhood.
More than my knowledge of trucks and trains has changed since I met Mason. I think that now I can better appreciate the importance of small things. See, Mason doesn't know exactly how sick he is. My mom says that the policy with seriously ill kids is to answer their questions, but not tell them what they don't need to know. To my knowledge, Mason has never asked if he's going to die. And his parents don't tell him. When I'm with Mason, even for only an hour, I feel that I'm a major part of his life. When he calls me his best friend in his clear, child's voice, my heart melts. I know that I cannot disappoint him, because I may not have the time to fully make up for it. I know that no matter how long Mason lives, he will value my presence in his life. And I know that I will never forget him.
User Reviews
Submitted by GetNakeddd (user info) at 2006-08-03 14:22:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very nice, heartfelt
+2 because it made me think of my favorite book growing up: A Wind in the Door
Charles Wallace had something wrong with his mitochondria too =(
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-08-03 14:04:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i think people don't tell children how sick they are because they know the kids will understand completely.
Submitted by fried-green-potatoes (user info) at 2006-08-03 13:58:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You took just enough off this story to make it poignant and memorable.
Very nicely done.
Submitted by whysenheimer (user info) at 2006-08-02 23:26:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice essay.
Submitted by missflibble (user info) at 2006-08-02 06:58:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i would put no comment, but thats a cop out.
Submitted by mikethescottish (user info) at 2006-08-02 06:16:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very, very well written.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-08-02 06:00:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Before reading this, I looked at the title and for some reason thought of that bit in Ghostbusters II where Peter MacNicol is going "Yes....a child..."
After reading it, I think I need a drink.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-08-02 04:06:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-08-02 04:00:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Also, I am particularly interested in the medical aspect of this sort of thing as I have been a caregiver for 6 years and I am in the process of applying to nursing school. So I'm down with the mitochondria, the malaise, the GI tube. Interesting that your mom said he's the 1st on IV meds and GI..I'd never heard of either in-home either, not like that, a kid..interesting.
Word
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-08-02 03:58:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Why the fuck hasn't anyone rated it? no rape or emus, etc?
Submitted by coley (user info) at 2006-08-02 03:58:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I liked this.
Submitted by ripple (user info) at 2006-08-02 01:22:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i didnt know what to call it
"the pitying ramblings" didnt really work for me
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-08-02 01:14:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
NICE FILEANEM!