My Nephew :)

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My nephew Robbie is 14 years old but if a stranger were to look at him, they would assume that he's much much younger. You see, Robbie has a form of dwarfism: Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia with joint laxity type one. He is on a ventilator and has had over thirty surgeries to date with the most recent being a bowel obstruction. We almost lost him twice over the course of a week. First when his bowels twisted on themselves and again a few days after his surgery when all of the internal sutures came undone. He became septic and they rushed him into surgery again. Surgery was a success and he now lives is live with an ostomy bag. All of that was in June 2016 and thankfully, he has been stable ever since. :) Flash forward to tonight and the reason for this blog. Robbie is spending the night at my house just as he has since probably Sept 2016. He spends every Saturday night and every night he possibly can when there is no night nurse at his house. He hates having his mom be his night nurse because she yells at him. In all honesty, my sister does not do much for my nephew, her own son. If there is someone there that can do her duties for her, she lets them which is why I’m employed by a company that pays me to take care of him. However, they only pay me for 20 hours a week and I work with him 40+, sometimes 60+ hours a week. And I would not change it for anything. Back to tonight, Robbie kept thanking me over and over about letting him spend the night. It wasn’t certain that he was going to as I don’t like to bring him out of the house if it’s snowing or really cold but thankfully the weather was nice enough to bring him over. My house is my nephews’ Sanctuary. Here, they can be kids and not worry about being yelled at. Since my sister’s back surgery in Oct 2016, she has been very moody. I won't really go into all of the things she’s done or yelled at the boys about but let's just say that it’s stuff all kids do. Yes, some things can be annoying if a kid continues to do them but if they see an adult doing the same thing, they are going to be confused. As a result of her moodiness, when the boys are here at my house, they often ask me why they have to go home and why they can’t just live with me. What do I say to that??? My usual answer is that they have to go home because that’s where they live and my house is just where they visit. Tonight, Robbie asked me why they can’t visit their mom but live here with me. Again, what do you say to a child that asks you that? My nephew Robbie is one of the strongest people I have ever met. Even with all of the countless surgeries and obstacles he’s overcome, he does it with a smile on his face. He makes me want to be a better person and I will continue to be by his side for whatever he may need. Robbie: My Nephew, My Friend, My Hero.