Hugs for Heston

I love how Heston has made his brothers better people. I have read many articles about how difficult it is for siblings of kids with special needs and/ or terminal illnesses.  Much of the family time and focus goes to the high needs child, and often the siblings are neglected and miss out.  I don't want to belittle these things for a moment and absolutely want us to be aware of the extreme challenges that the siblings face.  But so often I think we forget to see the tremendous value that a special needs and terminal child is to his or her siblings.  I have shared over and over what a precious gift Heston has been to me- how he has changed my perspective on life, made me a more loving, deeper person.  But that gift is not exclusive to me, the parent. When Heston was first diagnosed one of the first thoughts I had was that I knew my other boys would grow up to be greater people from growing up alongside him, and experiencing so much from him....

I love Heston's hands. Heston has the most soft, perfect hands one could ever hold.  His touch is always gently and while his hands aren't always warm to the touch, contact with them can leave your heart feeling warm and filled. After Heston had his complications following surgery two years ago, he went weeks even months without being able to move his hands.  I remember wondering if he would ever regain the skill and connection from his brain to be able to control movement again.  Then one day he was given a massage on his hands at Canuck Place and after that, we started seeing glimpses of movement- with hope of more to come.  He did end up regaining function and control, although not to the complete extent he had prior to the surgery.  But what that showed me was not only how helpful massage was for him, but also how important physical connection and physical touch is. Recently we have noticed that Heston is not using his left hand as much, an...