SuperSib

I am sure that quite a few of you have wondered how all of this has affected Princess Buttercup. That was the first thing I thought of when she was diagnosed was how are we going to make sure that Buttercup is okay. I knew Fiona was going to get taken care of. Buttercup was at my sister's when we took Fiona to the ER. It was 10pm when I came to get her while Fiona was getting a bed. I brought Buttercup back up to the hospital with me. On the way there we talked a bit about what was going on. She asked me if Fiona was going to die. I told her I didn't think so, and definitely not right now, but if it started to look that way we would talk about it again. This totally satisfied her. When we got up, she brought out this magic set my sister had purchased for her and started to entertain us in the ICU. What a gift that was. I couldn't believe anyone could make me laugh at that time.

When we got Fiona's road map of treatment, we had to start looking for ways to take care of Buttercup when I couldn't. Instead of putting her into traditional daycare, we put her into Safari Sams. It boasted the largest indoor play structure in the state and was a place she loved to go. She would go there twice a week until the end of the year, the day we had chemo and the day after, in case we needed to go back for blood transfusions.

During school holidays, she would end up spending time at the hospital with us. I thought it would be good to dispel any ideas she might be cooking up. She thought it was boring and lame and was not interested in having any of that stuff done to her.

Safari Sam's was getting expensive and after Christmas break, we had her going only on Thursday and a wonderful friend of mine, who gave piano lessons, would pick her up on Fridays, teach her and then let her play until one of us could come and get Buttercup. What a blessing she was. I really appreciated the time and effort she put in to helping us.

We were fully prepared to deal with problems at school or home as Buttercup adjusted to our new life, but she was amazing. She had an excellent teacher who mothered her during the day. When we could afford it, we would get stuff that Fiona could earn, by taking her medicine, to give to her sister. She was quiet while her sister was taking a nap and playful when she wasn't. She has been an amazing big sister. Just like I don't blame myself when my kids act up, I also don't take credit for their good behavior either. The way Buttercup has behaved, so amazingly, is a testament of her good nature and excellent observation skills. I am grateful that she doesn't seem to have been scarred by this. In fact, it has brought the two of us closer together. I don't know if it was a relief to have a child untouched by this trauma, but seeing her everyday, happy and healthy, was something I really needed. She truly is a SuperSib .

The last picture was during an office visit. Once again, she was entertaining us at the hospital.