Courage doesn’t always roar.  Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says, I’ll try again tomorrow…..

Stuva said it best the other day….”Will is the bravest person I’ve met, even in ALL the stories I’ve ever read” and I tend to agree.  Sure, we’re biased – he’s our kid and we are witness to his physical and mental tenacity every day as he battles through pain and nausea knowing all the while that this round isn’t even close to a slam dunk.  It’s a chance at getting to the next phase of treatment.  If you were a betting person, you probably wouldn’t take the bet.  But here Will is, rising to meet each day and do it again.

Today is day three of four; each 12 hours he gets a big dose of IV chemo into his central line and the side effects start to roll in.  The chemo he gets is known for big nausea, big fever and big risk for infection.  His bedside table is home to a collection of pills that he takes all day long – some of them once a day, some of them thrice a day.  Some are for his central diabetes insipidus, some to inhibit phosphorous build up, some for nausea, some for better coagulation.  The grand finale is the 8 giant oral chemo pills he’s been taking daily since March 1.  He also has a central line where he gets his other chemo, his anti-fungal, his anti-bacterial and other various pain and nausea medications in IV form….all day long.  Today he got two bags of blood; some days he gets platelets instead.

Will decided to go through another round because he wants to make it to transplant.  Because he wants a chance to grow up.  This isn’t a bold move – this is just real courage, not making a lot of fuss or craving any attention…this is my son, William Maniatis, in his quiet and thoughtful way choosing to try again.

Miracles take time and, in the meantime, we celebrate the little moments of joy each day.    Please pray for Will’s continued strength and for him to stay stable in the coming days and weeks.  Courage in waking up and turning on our grateful hearts, in learning the lessons along the way and keeping hope no matter what.  Love to you all xoxo