He’s been the only sunshine in my week full of gray clouds. He’s stood up to the challenges that I told him that we would be facing in the next couple of weeks together. He’s been my best friend and we’re beginning to form a strong bond and team together. All this and he turns six months old tomorrow. That’s how I feel about my son Lukas.

At first I was scared. I would have to be a full-time daddy and be able to take care of Lukas at night (my mom takes care of him during the day while I’m at work). I wasn’t sure if I would be able to accept the challenge. The first night he frustrated me, he kept crying, he wouldn’t sleep, he wanted his mommy. That’s understandable. In frustration, I talked to him. I told him that mommy needed him to be good. That daddy needed him to be good and that he needed to understand that mommy wasn’t feeling well and that I needed him to step up and accept the challenges ahead. Of course, he is six months old and I didn’t expect him to understand what I was saying.

Oddly enough, he has responded to my request and has stepped it up wonderfully. He sleeps throughout the night, waking up only once to eat, which is fine by me, cause it gives me an opportunity to put him in the bed with me. I need the company.

He hardly cries or fusses. He now just has a little cute babble instead of crying. He wakes up happy in the morning, he laughs when I put him in the car and most importantly – for me – he makes me laugh when I should be crying.

The most important thing though is the joy he brings to Lis. He’s the perfect remedy to depression, or feeling bad about what life has dealt you. She does sometimes get down because she thinks about him, but overall, he brings joy into her life.

He also brings joy into the nurse’s lives. We have gotten many compliments about how he is lightened up the floor. Usually a depressing floor, due to the many illnesses and sick people being attended to, this 6-month old baby has greeted them every morning for the past week with a flirtatious smile. It’s adorable. He’s truly been the MVP of this whole situation and I’m so proud that he is my son.

Highlights today...mom and dad bought a portable DVD player that Lis can use. We watched a couple of movies on it and I think it will come in handy for Lis. I think I’ll buy Friends: Season 9 for her. One of the doctors came in and we asked him a couple of questions. Looks like this thing could take close to a year. After Lis is in remission (hopefully), a couple months down the road they will try to do the bone marrow transplant. After finding a match (hopefully), Lis will get the transplant, be in the hospital in Seattle for about a month, and then have to spend three more months (maybe in a hospital) doing blood tests every day. Wow! This is going to be good.

It still seems somewhat phony, like its part of a movie, but it’s not, its very real. This thing called life. Well, I should get to bed.