|
| |
Dear Advicenators,
One and a half years ago my brother *Henry* was diagnosed with hemophilia, which means that his blood does not clot normally. If he gets a cut, it's really hard to stop the bleeding. If he loses too much blood, he could die if the blood is not replenished.
Henry and I always liked to spend time together (he's two years older than me). We'd ride bikes to the park and shoot basketball hoops. He couldn't be too active, but he was my best friend and I felt safe around him.
Anyway, he lost a lot of blood one day, and was taken to the doctor for another blood injection. The horrible part was, that the person who had donated that blood was carrying the AIDS virus. The doctor proclaimed that Henry now had AIDS.
Henry is 15 years old, is in diapers, and must be fed through an IV or a tube. He has about 4 months left to live. My entire family is sad, and angry about it. My parents must monitor him all the time, so I always have to get a ride to my volleyball games. All three of us never have extra time, because we are always there for Henry and when he must be hospitalized. I had to drop out of volleyball for him.
Henry has been the butt of the jokes from the kids at school lately. They make fun of the fact that he has been in diapers. They are unaware of the fact that his brain is slowly being devoured, and he can't feed himself. The AIDS is tearing the whole family apart. But luckily, my friends are there to console me, but I always feel resentment towards the cruel kids at school. Can I please have some suggestions on what to do about that?
Anyway, as I am spending my last Christmas with my brother, I have no idea what present to give to him. Could I please have some ideas? I want it to be special and something he'll remember when he goes to Heaven.
Also, how can I comfort / cheer up my parents? They have been having lots of mood swings lately and have been very stressed.
Any input and prayer would be great. Sorry about the length. (link)
| |
You have already given him a great gift. You gave him your time, there's nothing more valuable than that at this time. As for your parents, there's not much anyone can do. You can try to talk them through it and give them a chance to get anything out, but there's not really anything you can do to cheer them up. They're just coping in a different way. As for the jokes, I'm sure anyone who isn't pure evil would stop if they were completely aware, so make them aware of his condition. If they don't stop, tell someone about it. A teacher probably.
|
|
