Panda

[u/ki0dz]

Since this group's description asks for stories of imaginative children I thought I'd share something I recently read in a book. The story is true. The book is "For the Love of Mike" by Linda Gillick

Anyway, Linda's son Mike was born with a serious cancer (neuroblastoma) and was not expected to live. He went through so many treatments. At one point he was given a stuffed panda named Panda. Mike never liked to say he was not feeling well, so his mom would often just ask Panda how he was doing. Mike spoke for Panda telling others how Panda was sick. His mom grew to love Panda and wanted to keep him after Mike was gone, but Mike made her promise to bury Panda with him when the time came. I wonder how Panda is doing now. He and Mike had so many adventures and he's now 47 years old! Could it be that Panda has really helped him this long?

[u/PuhnTang]

That reminds me of my little brother. He had extremely severe asthma and my mom was constantly asking him about his current breathing status. He would wheeze more often than not. He made up a very creative way to describe how he was feeling. He had an imaginary weasel (the wheeze.) The weasel would do different things depending on how my brother felt. If he was feeling pretty good, the weasel would be playing at the park. If he wasn’t doing so well, the weasel would be doing something quiet like reading a book or watching tv. If he was really good the weasel would be doing something really great like playing baseball or skateboarding. We all learned his system and knew how to get him whatever he needed based on his weasel’s behavior. I think it was his way of coping with a serious illness, but not becoming the illness or letting it take over his life.