Sam-I-Am (Tuesday 8.26.08)

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss?  I remember reading Dr. Seuss to the kids when they were young.  Now, all of a sudden, Cameron and Amanda (my daughter) are college students, Sam’s a high school freshman, and nephew Alex is closing in fast.   Indeed, all the Nelson kids (from Stef’s side of the family) and all the extended families’ kids are growing so fast.  Yours too, I’m certain. 

 

Where does the time go?

 

Fast forward to Sunday night when I arrived at the hospital and I found Sam, our Sam.   The original, the one-and-only Sam Huntting.  There he was all snuggled up in his new baseball quilt with the center embroidery proclaiming:  “Sam I Am” (many thanks to Jackie Bennett for this beautiful gift!).    There he was, our very own Sam-I-Am. 

 

Now, how do I explain what I mean???  Hmmm… let me try.

 

In the past three-plus weeks, we’ve watched Sam go from crisis, to coma, to deep sleep, to waking up but very agitated, to confused and unbalanced, to now.  Since arriving at Emanuel he is talking more, doing more, laughing and smiling more.  But, Sunday night it was different.  It was as though he was ‘back’.  He was present.  He was and is.

 

Early on in this journey, Cameron, Amanda and I read Shel Silverstein’s poem, “A Light in the Attic” (from the book with the same name), to each other and to Sam.  And the family talked about how the poem seemed to fit.   While he laid motionless we could see that the light was on inside but it just couldn’t shine through yet. 

 

Now, his light is shining, glowing, bursting forth.  In his eyes and behind his eyes, you can see the original, the one-and-only Sam.  Sure, his journey is still long with doubtless ups-and-downs and frustrations to work through.   They’ll be times to make up for, emotions to feel, and time to heal. 

 

Yet, we’re prepared, even, for times when we don’t see Sam in the deepness of his eyes.  But, we know, without hesitation, that he will be more than okay; he will be Sam again.

 

How can we be so sure?  Well, there’s faith, family and friends.  There’s determination, devotion and discipline.  We know that Sam, our very own Sam-I-Am, will be back in full.   And, for further confirmation, there’s always Dr. Seuss in his last book about a boy and his struggles.   As we read in “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”…

 

"Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)"

 

Thanks for keeping on with us,

Aunt Dart (Karylinn)