teamMarius

The last week has gone really well with Marius, and I think that he is making great progress. His legs are looking so much better, and he has been in pain a lot less often. The doctors are also giving him less medication, which is a good sign. Alina (his cousin) has been so great with him, and we were sad that we had to say goodbye to her on Saturday. We learned this week how smart Marius is. Alina bought him an etch-o-sketch and we worked on him using his mouth to write. At first he didn't want to do it because he said that it was too hard, but then I put it in my mouth and drew some things and asked him if he could copy them. That put us on the same level, and he started to do it too. He showed me that he could add, subtract, and multiply, and he is quite the clever little guy. Marius was really happy this week because he got to watch Ratatouille and Tarzan dubbed in Romanian (courtesy of Teo). We have since then watched each several times.

Today Jess, Teo, and I met Marius' aunt from America, Maricica, for the first time and that went really well. She is a sweet lady and it is clear that she cares for Marius very much. We met her in the hospital and she suggested that we go downstairs to a little store/cafe where we could all have a little more privacy. She told us that she is staying with Marius during the day, and during the nights she has an apartment that she is going back to sleep in. She seems to be willing to do whatever we think is necessary to get Marius to America, so that was a comfort.
Maricica told us that she told Marius about his parents yesterday. She told him that his parents are up in heaven and that they are angels. She didn't directly say that they had died, because she said that she wanted to break the news to him in a gentle way. He didn't say anything after she told him, so we are not sure whether or not he completely understands, but it is my opinion that he does. He is a smart boy and I think that he has suspected that things have been kept from him for a while. Today he was very angry with us when we left to go downstairs with Marcy, and while he came around to talking to us later, he still seemed pretty down. This will be very hard for him, but I am glad that Maricica told him, because he deserves to know. I wish that we could be here with him longer, especially now, but I am glad that Maricica is here and that Teo will still be handling things. He is in good hands. I love you all and thank you for all of the work you have all been putting in to helping Marius.