{"id":126,"date":"2025-05-07T19:05:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T19:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/?p=126"},"modified":"2025-05-07T19:06:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T19:06:02","slug":"4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There are moments when time feels heavy, like it\u2019s sitting right on your chest. Right now, that\u2019s where we are \u2014 stuck between hope and exhaustion, waiting for healing to catch up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric is doing better. Dialysis has made a difference, a real one. A few days ago, he was in unbearable pain \u2014 his sides hurting so badly he shook with it. The worst part was watching him slip into delirium, not fully here with us. But today, he\u2019s back. His eyes are clear. He\u2019s present. And even though he still can\u2019t speak, he\u2019s finding ways to show us he\u2019s here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been a week since they took out the breathing tube. His throat is still raw, and maybe the NG tube isn\u2019t helping either. Speech therapy came to see him, and they\u2019ve scheduled a swallow study for Monday \u2014 a small test, but a huge step. It\u2019s strange not hearing his voice, but I\u2019m learning to listen in other ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday wasn\u2019t easy. He threw up twice while taking his medicine. His body is tired, worn thin. But even on the hard days, there\u2019s good news: his rejection numbers are right where they should be. No need to repeat his immunosuppressants \u2014 one less battle for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And he walked again. Slowly, carefully, but he did it. Every step forward feels like a small act of rebellion against everything that\u2019s tried to hold him down. I see it, and so do his nurses \u2014 these wonderful, tireless people who encourage him with every smile and every word. I can\u2019t explain how much it means to see him push himself, not just for him, but for them too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The kidney specialists came back yesterday. After so much waiting, they finally confirmed it: just a kidney injury. Not failure. A few more days of dialysis, they said, and we should see real improvement. If I\u2019m counting right, today marks day four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric is tired. He\u2019s ready to go home. Today, Rafa stayed with him and they wheeled him outside for a little while. He didn\u2019t look too impressed, but I like to think a part of him still felt the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The best part of these past 2 days was seeing his humor break through. We talked about Janelle, and he made the funniest faces mocking her when she bumped her forehead. He\u2019s also pretending he\u2019s asleep when the nurses come by, then cracking a little smile when they catch him faking. It\u2019s such a small thing, but I miss that laugh more than I can say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He cried too. He misses Janelle. I asked if they could let her visit, but ICU rules don\u2019t allow kids under four. Another thing to wait on. Another thing held hostage by time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right now, time feels cruel \u2014 dragging its feet, forcing us to sit with the unknown. But inside that slowness, there\u2019s healing happening. Quiet, stubborn, real. And even though every hour feels endless, we are moving forward. One day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-2-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-2-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are moments when time feels heavy, like it\u2019s sitting right on your chest. Right now, that\u2019s where we are \u2014 stuck between hope and exhaustion, waiting for healing to catch up. Eric is doing better. Dialysis has made a difference, a real one. A few days ago, he was in unbearable pain \u2014 his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2220,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v26.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey - COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are moments when time feels heavy, like it\u2019s sitting right on your chest. Right now, that\u2019s where we are \u2014 stuck between hope and exhaustion, waiting for healing to catch up. Eric is doing better. Dialysis has made a difference, a real one. A few days ago, he was in unbearable pain \u2014 his [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shinee.d.wall\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-07T19:05:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-07T19:06:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shinee Garcia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shinee Garcia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/\",\"name\":\"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey - COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-07T19:05:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-07T19:06:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/005db979ddcf79058ecb9c60d8c2db34\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1.jpg\",\"width\":1536,\"height\":2048},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/\",\"name\":\"COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/005db979ddcf79058ecb9c60d8c2db34\",\"name\":\"Shinee Garcia\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee0fa0dbdd4587d88b1caaec038d4921ecf907ebb3e794cb680e6bf2405931d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee0fa0dbdd4587d88b1caaec038d4921ecf907ebb3e794cb680e6bf2405931d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shinee Garcia\"},\"description\":\"I am the Tia\/Auntie of Eric Liam. He is very important and Special to my family. Even though they are technically cousins, My children think of Eric and His sister more like a bonus sibling. My Heart is Elated that Eric Finally got his Heart and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for him!\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shinee.d.wall\",\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@shingrc30?xmt=AQGzoA1tjGVN27pwn1LN5Nlznl9Z4CVQjr7-6DqXm9XSa0A\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/author\/shineegarcia\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey - COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey","og_description":"There are moments when time feels heavy, like it\u2019s sitting right on your chest. Right now, that\u2019s where we are \u2014 stuck between hope and exhaustion, waiting for healing to catch up. Eric is doing better. Dialysis has made a difference, a real one. A few days ago, he was in unbearable pain \u2014 his [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/","og_site_name":"COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shinee.d.wall","article_published_time":"2025-05-07T19:05:59+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-07T19:06:02+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Shinee Garcia","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shinee Garcia","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/","name":"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey - COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1-768x1024.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-07T19:05:59+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-07T19:06:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/005db979ddcf79058ecb9c60d8c2db34"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6546\/2025\/05\/4-26-1-1.jpg","width":1536,"height":2048},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/2025\/05\/07\/4-26-25-day-13-of-healing-journey\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"4-26-25: Day 13 of Healing Journey"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/","name":"COTA for Eric Liam&#039;s Battle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/005db979ddcf79058ecb9c60d8c2db34","name":"Shinee Garcia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee0fa0dbdd4587d88b1caaec038d4921ecf907ebb3e794cb680e6bf2405931d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ee0fa0dbdd4587d88b1caaec038d4921ecf907ebb3e794cb680e6bf2405931d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shinee Garcia"},"description":"I am the Tia\/Auntie of Eric Liam. He is very important and Special to my family. Even though they are technically cousins, My children think of Eric and His sister more like a bonus sibling. My Heart is Elated that Eric Finally got his Heart and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for him!","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shinee.d.wall","https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@shingrc30?xmt=AQGzoA1tjGVN27pwn1LN5Nlznl9Z4CVQjr7-6DqXm9XSa0A"],"url":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/author\/shineegarcia\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cota.org\/cotaforericliamsbattle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}