Give your kids a hug

For the past couple days I've been following the blog of the parents of a 22-month old boy who was injured when he somehow became entangled in a cord. The latest update, received this afternoon was that the little boy didn't make it.

Sunday evening, we discovered lumps on the back of DeeDee's head and behind her left ear; something swollen. Angelo and I were concerned, but mostly because of our previous experiences. Angelo's dad died of brain cancer a couple years ago; my cousin, as a teenager fought and survived childhood leukemia. My cousin's leukemia was discovered because of lumps behind her ear. And, to make matters worse, my cousin's father, my uncle died about 13 and a half years ago due to lymphoma. Not a good track record, is it?

So, we warped people. With DeeDee's lumps, memories flooded our brains. It didn't take a lot of debate to decide we were going to schedule a doctor's appointment for her.

Sunday night, it was hard for either Angelo or I to sleep. There was a lot of tossing and turning going on. We didn't talk, but knew what each other was going through.

Monday morning, those few hours to pass before appointment time were tedious.

Finally we were at the doctors. Needless to say DeeDee is fine, and though we could be sheepish and embarrassed at our paranoia, everyone has told us we did the right thing.

But, the lesson is this. Life can change so quickly. That family who woke up one morning without an idea that by the end of the day they would be in the middle of a nightmare; and for us, a girl that seemed so healthy, but due to genes may one day fighting the battle of her life --- give your kids an extra hug or two or ten today.