The Value of Friends

John asked us several times on the way to Nebraska if we were going to see 'friends' and we told him repeatedly that we were indeed going to do so. When we got to Birk and Charity's town he got really excited and when we pulled into their driveway he was practically levitating out of his carseat signing 'friends' as fast as his fingers could go and higher and higher so that he was quickly signing 'friends' over his head, I'm guessing this would be volume.

He had a great time playing with the kids, was very excited to see them the next morning and was really happy to hear that after his doctor's appointment he was going to get to come back and play with them again.













The value of friends ... PRICELESS!!!

John's appointment was okay, just okay. The doctor and dietician were concerned that John had lost 1.5 kilos since the 1st of July, that's about 3.3 pounds, about 10% of John's body weight, not a good thing. They were a little relieved when we explained how much time John had been without g-tube feeds due to intestinal viruses, nearly 20 days of that time was with IV fluids only, or very little else than IV fluids. So we have this month to see if he will pick some of that weight back up and stay well, if not, well I don't know but I can't imagine that it's going to be a pretty or enjoyable conversation at that point. Of course this month we are going to North Carolina for a wedding of a family friend and to see Mark's family and of course John has a bad cold, and of course he started throwing up yesterday. We think the throwing up is due to the cold, we hope. We are under orders to call immediately if we have to shut John's normal g-tube feeds off for any reason, thankfully so far we've not had to call yet. We're sincerely hoping that we don't have to make that phone call even once. We are a little comforted in knowing that John has already picked up a bit of weight since his last virus, and that he hasn't lost quite 1.5 kilos because the start weight was high due to over-hydration and belly full of yuck, but still he's lost at least 1 kilo and probably 1.25. We are most comforted in knowing that day in and day out John is baptized, John is a beloved child of Christ, and that His will is perfect for John and us too. It is this comfort that lets us sleep at night and enjoy good times with friends and with our little boy no matter what the days may bring!