Houston: Night Three
Today wasn’t heavy in the way the last few days have been.
Medically, not much changed, and that’s okay. We saw a few doctors, asked a few questions, and continued the slow, careful work of stabilizing Cassidy’s sodium. We’ve learned that this part isn’t quick, and today didn’t demand urgency or big decisions. It asked for patience.
But emotionally? Today was full. Instead of procedures and intense conversations, today was shaped by people, by support, familiarity, and the quiet reminder that we are deeply loved.
Friends and coworkers came to visit! Bridgette and her husband Sergio, along with Cheri…and for a little while, the hospital room felt lighter. There was conversation that didn’t revolve around labs or symptoms. There was laughter. Normalcy. The kind that doesn’t erase what’s happening, but gives you space to breathe inside it.
Cassidy’s brothers, Kelly and Cody, spent time with him alongside his parents. Watching him surrounded by family, people who share his history, his humor, his way of being. There’s comfort in seeing the people who know him best sit beside him, filling the room with familiarity and love.
And Jenny…steady, constant Jenny was with me all day. In the midst of everything, she insisted we sneak away for a quick HomeGoods trip, and honestly, it felt like medicine in its own way. Wandering aisles. Talking about nothing and everything. Touching things that had nothing to do with hospitals or cancer. It was a small pocket of normal life, and it mattered more than I can explain.
Today reminded me that while medicine keeps Cassidy alive, love keeps us going.
This journey can be isolating. Hospital walls have a way of shrinking your world down to one room, one bed, one set of numbers on a screen. But days like today stretch that world back out again. They remind us that we’re not carrying this alone…that there are people willing to show up, sit with us, laugh with us, and hold space without needing anything in return.
We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We rarely do. But today gave us exactly what we needed: connection, comfort, and the reassurance that we are surrounded by people who love us fiercely. And for now, that is enough.
