'Beyond grateful': Heartwarming story behind this photo revealed
A Brisbane mother has shared the heartwarming story behind a photo she took of her husband and her son’s surgeon talking a walk outside the Queensland Children’s hospital on Tuesday.
Angie Mansey share the image after she received the heartbreaking news that only one parent could attend the consultation for nine-year-old Corbin’s upcoming operation due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Corbin was born with VACTERL association, a rare and complex medical condition that affects most of his internal organs. The young boy has already endured 28 surgeries in his short life.
While the upset mother said she was aware only one parent would be allowed to accompany her little boy on the day of his surgery, she wasn’t prepared to be separated from her husband during the preliminary meeting.
When she called her husband, Luke, who had just parked the car and was on his way up to let him know he couldn’t attend the meeting, Ms Mansey said she could tell he was upset.
“I heard his voice cracking as we have been so worried about what the outcome of this surgery would be but we knew that the rules were for the best,” she explained in a post on Facebook.
‘Come on, let’s go find him’
The surgeon explained he was unable to bend the rules and Ms Mansey said she understood and it was ok to continue the meeting.
“Then this man looked around and with a single movement grabbed his belongings and said ‘come on, let’s go find him and hold this meeting across the road,” Ms Mansey wrote.
Ms Mansey and the surgeon walked out of the hospital and across the road where they met her husband and discussed the plan for little Corbin.
“We sat together huddled on a concrete wall next to the busy street as he explained that the outcome of the surgery requested by his gastro/liver transplant team would not result in an outcome that any of us would want.
“That due to prior surgical procedures and organs being in the wrong place down there that it could go very wrong and likely would,” Ms Mansey wrote.
‘An absolute legend of a man’
“I am so beyond grateful that this man went above and beyond to allow us to hear the news together, ask the questions we needed to know answers to and didn’t for a moment flinch when it came to going that little bit further to make our lives a little bit easier today.
“It hurt to hear but it hurt less because his kindness and consideration softened the blow. What an absolute, absolute legend of a man,” Ms Massey wrote.
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Although the news was not what the couple wanted to hear, they still have hope.
“This heaven sent gentleman is going to start working through any other options we may have in order to help our son,” she wrote.
Ms Mansey explained there had been tears on the way home but they are now hopeful that this new surgeon won’t give up on their little boy.
“The first thing is going to be a new set of tests that will be undertaken and then we will go from there,” she wrote.
The author and blogger shared with her readers on Facebook that the rule in her household was one 24 hour period to feel sad.
“That’s all you get to feel sorry for yourself in our house, then it is time to pick yourself up and dust yourself off again. Hot shower, fresh pjs and a cuppa and hugs on the couch together and tomorrow will be a new day.
“Bless this man for making today so much more bearable,” she ended the heartfelt post.
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