May The Fourth Be With You!-May 4th

May 4th has become connected with Star Wars and the famous line "May the Force Be With You" adapted to "May the Fourth Be with You."  (Explanation needed for future generations who may not understand the Star War reference).  Star War fanatics celebrate with parties and costumes, etc.

I am not a big Star War fan although I did enjoy the ones that I have seen.  However, I was looking for a way to thank the staff at the state hospital for hanging in with Ben over the past 2 months which have been so difficult.  So I offered to bring cupcakes to celebrate May 4th.  The recreation staff thought it was a great idea and so the plan was made.

I ordered white and teal frosted cupcakes from Smiths and then added some special "Star Wars" sprinkles to them (thank Amazon.)  We also got some Star War themed blow-up balls.

Shopping carts in our building are useful
for transporting from our apartment to the car.

So after morning devotional, Jena and I hurried down to Provo as they were hoping to start the Star War activity at 10:30.  When we were about 10 minutes away, I called to see if I needed to check in or if I could come straight to the unit to drop them off.  Kory said to come straight to the unit and "Oh, by the way, Dr. Roundy said you are welcome to come in and eat cupcakes and play games for a while if you have time."  This was the first I had heard about this plan, but I jumped at the opportunity to spend some time with Ben and other patients.

It turned out even more amazing that I could have ever hoped for.  When we arrived, the planned location of the conference room was being used for a meeting that was running long.  The conference room is the one location that has access from the unit but also from the more public area and it is where clinical meetings are held.  Staff wasn't sure what to do, but at that time, Dr. Roundy came up and said just head to the day room--just take Judy and Jena with you.  So, on to the unit we went!

This was a huge deal for me!!  During Ben's prior stay and this one, I have asked for photos and an idea of how the unit was laid out and organized (which I haven't ever gotten although Dr. Roundy thinks it is a great idea and passed the idea of doing a unit video up the line) . I wanted to be able to picture Ben in his surroundings and to understand when he refers to different areas what it actually looked like.  For 30 minutes, I was able to be in the day room, see the outdoor courtyard, understand the layout of the unit, and be with staff and other patients in casual interactions.  We shared the cupcakes and played some Star War trivia.  Ben was in and out the entire time, but I could tell he was glad that we were there.  Later, Dr. Roundy said Ben even smiled as he talked about us bringing cupcakes to share on the unit.  A win for all of us! 

Especially meaningful was patients coming up and telling me how Ben is so kind and gentle--this was especially important since he had just had two very difficult months.......

The only thing I didn't get to see on the unit was Ben's bedroom, but Dr. Roundy wasn't around and I thought I shouldn't push it with the staff.  Ben told me later that there isn't much to see in his room anyway.

Sometimes, "good" deeds are rewarded immediately!  What an unexpected blessing for me just because we wanted to thank the staff for their care!  A tender mercy from the true "force" being with us.