Children’s National

It’s Father’s Day and I am at Cold Spoon. I brought Hadi to Cold Spoon after we learned his diagnosis (this is when there was still gelato). The father of my children let me know our marriage was over at Cold Spoon. I came here to work on a paper for my Masters in Marital and Family Therapy. That will eventually happen but I am finally allowing myself to process Friday. Zakaria, my father and I were able to go on a tour of Children’s National and learn about medical research. Watching Zakaria’s eyes light up as he talked to medical researchers was amazing. Driving into the Children’s National parking lot, I wondered when I would break down. As I walked toward the elevator, my father happened to be getting out of his car at the same time. Cue breakdown. After a tight hug, we checked in and I stared at the huge balloons in the lobby. While Hadi spent most of his journey at the NIH, he returned to Allah at Children’s. I asked if we could go up to the ICU and allowed myself all the feels. Seeing the room where I said goodbye to my beautiful guide. Looking in the conference room where Imam Magid told me I was a good mother and we discussed Hadi’s name. Watching the cutest little girl use her strength to walk with her IV pole and also thinking about the love of her mother right behind her. Taking in the beautiful healing garden and smiling at how it was the inspiration for Zakaria to create Hadi’s healing garden even though the kid really didn’t participate in the dirt part.