Tomorrow Will Be Better, Madeleine

Hey guys!

This past week was a roller-coaster. On Tuesday, my mom called me to tell me my twin brother was in the hospital and about to undergo an appendectomy. So, I drove to my mom who then drove us to the hospital. Of course we got lost on the way, there was traffic and when we finally got to his hospital room they had already taken him to pre-op. So we literally ran to pre-op to be able to catch him before surgery. I was adamant that I had to see him before his operation and was ready to break through the door. Thankfully, that wasn’t necessary. We got to pre-op and they let us in (in exchange for his gf coming out since 2 people are allowed at a time max). Seeing my 6-foot brother in a stretcher with IVs attached to him and surrounded by a doctor, anesthesiologist and nurses, I began to cry. I know appendectomies are common procedures (of course I webmd’d that shit on my iphone as my mom drove and found out that 1 in 15 get appendicitis), but that doesn’t appease fear. Whenever you see someone you love in a hospital bed for something other than giving birth, it’s disconcerting, right? Thankfully, the surgery went well and an hour and a half after seeing him off he was already cracking jokes in his recovery room and charming the nurses. Gotta love that kid.

Of course, it’s moments like those (much like the last time he and I were in the ER for his chest pain) that I shake my head at myself for my decision to focus my energies on trivial things like whatever imaginary weight I think I’ve gained and for letting silly things like a rude email ruin my day. It also made me incredibly grateful for the fact that I’m nearly 30 and have rarely had to encounter the hospital outside of my sister-in-law giving birth twice, which has always been a happy experience (for me lol).

Reflecting on my experience after my twin was well and discharged, I also felt an incredible pang of sadness. If seeing my twin in the hospital for an appendectomy filled me with such fear and panic, how in the world can people face seeing their children in the hospital for much worse? This issue is close to home right now because my brother-from-another-mother (aka my bandmate) has a friend whose 3-month-old child, Madeleine, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and is currently undergoing chemo. Can you imagine? I can’t.

You can meet Madeleine here via a blog in her honor, which is written by her loving mom to keep family and friends updated on her progress.

A few weeks ago my bandmate called me asking if I would be willing to do a song in support of her, with all purchases of the song going towards her rising hospital bills. Of course I said yes, but we wanted to get the track out as soon as possible. This was right before I was leaving to spend a week at Green Mountain at Fox Run, so we did it despite one little challenge…I had laryngitis! This is a recurring theme! Do you remember when I got laryngitis for the first time right before my first live performance and trip to New Mexico to record our album? Yea. What gives?!

Anyhow, the track is now available and I think it came out beautifully simply because my bandmate’s lyrics are so touching and poignant that I can hardly sing them without tearing up. I hope you will consider purchasing the song, “Dear Madeleine,” and help us wish her parents hope that tomorrow will be better and a happy ending to this difficult time.
If you would like to purchase the song, you can do so via iTunes here ($0.99) and via Amazon.com here ($0.89).

<3,

The Cranky One

Tags: the antique toys