I visited Alanna yesterday after work. There were about a dozen people in the room with her when I got there. It seemed like a party, but there wasn't much to celebrate.
She looked so frail and thin, I hardly recognized her. It certainly wasn't the same Alanna who was literally dancing around church a few months ago. All I could do was hold her hand.
Like I said, I think Alanna is coming to terms with her death, and is just waiting to see everyone before she goes home with the Lord, but my heart goes out to that family. Anni darted over and bear hugged me when she saw me, and the first words out of her mouth were, "You have to come over so we can knit together!" I certainly will do that. She needs comfort and love right now more than anything.
The prayer shawl will most likely not get done in time for Alanna to have it, but now, she's not the one who needs it, so Anni will be its new recipient.
Sean is the other one I'm worried about. He's already a quiet kid, but my fear is that now he'll pull even further away and become an angry child. I can only hope that he will continue to latch on to that youth group and use them as his support.