Our Hope

Well, we saw the geneticist on Thursday. It went pretty much how I expected it to go. He, along with a genetic counselor and 2 interns, measured and examined Sam . Sam must have piqued their curiosity. It kind of reminded me of the movie ET when he is captured by the scientists. It is pretty terrible for your child to be examined like this. I know that they are just doing their job, but I sometimes wonder if they realize how hard it is on the parents to discuss the abnormalities of their child. I guess that if God is not allowed to be in the discussion, it does make for a gloomy outlook. But don' t they know that we serve an awesome God and no prognosis is set in stone? He is our Hope and He is Sam's creator. Sam was not a slip up and He created Sam perfectly how He wanted Him to be. I have to hold on to these truths and cling to the promise that God will heal him one day, I just wish that they could comfort the parents rather than be so matter of fact. Yes, give it to me straight up, but don't forget to remind us that our children are not a mistake and that God has a wonderful plan for their lives. As you can tell, this gets me a little fired up. He told us that some of Sam's features are not like mine or Jeff's. You would think that that would be a good thing. He also thought that Sam has some type of syndrome or chromosomal abnormality. There is a new chromosome test that has been developed since Sam was born. So, they took his blood, successfully I might add, and we will know in 2-3 weeks. He seemed pretty sure that we would find something that would explain Sam's health and developmental issues. Please pray for us as we await these results. Pray that God would calm our anxious hearts.

Sam is in His Hands

Sam is continuing to have his growth hormone shots. He started off with quite a bang, but now is hardly eating anything. I will be calling his doctor in the morning as I think he is losing weight. This is so weird for Sam because he is such a good eater. I was not told that this could be an effect of the hormone, so we will see. He is also seeing the geneticist this week. If anyone has ever taken a child to a geneticist, you know that it is one of the most terrifying places to take them. They measure and discuss almost every feature on their body. You begin to think that you have bred an alien and they are trying to figure out exactly where they are from. It's not that bad, but almost. Everything is looked at and you begin to wonder if they could find something wrong with everyone. I have been doing alot of research on the internet which is not good for a Mom to do. It can scare you. I do still feel that Sam and his metabolism is not quite right. He continues to have the same symptoms that I am worried about such as sweating terribly,breathing too hard, tires out easily,extremely thirsty,etc,, I did come across another Mom's blog whose child was having very similar symptoms as Sam. Anyways, they are going through the same things we were going through with Sam when he had to have his feeding tube put in. He is only 1, but it reminded me of all the things that Sam has been through and how God has brought us through so much. He is an amazing God. As I think back of what He has done for us and brought us through, I am reassured that He is going to bring us through once again. Sometimes, my prideful heart will wonder why the Israelites ever doubted God. Didn't he continue to deliver them time after time? Yet, they doubted Him. They couldn't grasp the fact that God would get them through. They lost their hope, faith, and trust. They were probably worried about their own kids and their kids' futures. They tried to take everything into their own hands, even though God was right there. But that same worry and lack of trust kept them out of the Promised Land. That worry and fear can keep us, too, from seeing God's Word fulfilled in our own lives. Lord, help me to know that You love Sam more than I do. Help me trust you with his future and continue to remind me of his past. You have delivered Him through it all and will continue to do so. II Corinthians 1:18-20

Yea For Sam!

Oops... Today, I accidentally scheduled two appointments for the same time for Sam. They both were coming to the house. I can be so scatter-brained sometimes. So, we had to cancel Sam's speech therapy. I hate that we will not have it this week. It is what he needs most. Sam's coordinator and an occupational therapist came over for an evaluation to see if he needed occupational therapy. Sam did really well with all of his fine motor skills (things like holding a pencil, stacking blocks, feeding himself with a spoon, drawing, etc...) He actually scored average. Yea! His self-help skills(putting a shirt on, washing his hands,potty training and brushing his teeth) were a little low. The therapist said that this is because his physical development is behind and that he just started walking. She said that walking usually has to be mastered before these will fall into place. She did believe that Sam will catch up on these soon. Bottom line: Sam does not qualify for Occupational therapy at this time. Yea! It was great to hear how well he was doing for a change. I needed to hear some positive things. She was very impressed with his social skills and his fine motor. So, Sam will continue receiving speech, physical, and play therapy for the next year, but no occupational therapy. Way to go, Sam!



We are going to begin potty-training Sam after our little vacation next week. The other kids began when they turned two and did well. Sam, on the other hand, I don't know if he will notice that he is wet. He has never seemed to care to have his diaper changed. I have tried to sit him on the potty and he gets terrified. I don't know why he is scared of it. I am going to have to be a little creative to make it very fun for him. We'll see what we can come up with. I know he'll get the hang of it eventually. He's a smart cookie like his DaddyMommy.