Joy Abounds

This week we had two sets of appointments. The first to determine what equipment John needed to help forward his independence and it was decided that while we thought a manual wheelchair would be good a month or so ago that John had progressed enough that now what he needed was a walker with a seat so he could sit and rest when he needs too. We are thrilled, John is thrilled, and he even likes the idea of moving his power chair outside and using his walker inside. It's just amazing to us!





These pics are from Wednesday, what a joy to see him enjoying an ice cream cone and entertaining himself while waiting for food that he then eagerly dug into when it arrived.



Early Thursday morning we left for Omaha to see the transplant team. The trip up was fun and enjoyable even though our normal route is still flooded. We were a bit late but just in time to get to see our favorite GI doc who was just being sociable and hanging out in clinic. John is big and strong enough that I held one of his hands and we walked into clinic together while Mark was parking and then he got to hold one of Dr. Fischer's hands and walk with him and later walked out of clinic with Dr. Mercer, the surgeon who did his transplant and who cared for him both before and after. We got to visit with April and say hi to several other people and the smiles were irrepressible on every face that knew John.

He has now grown enough and is eating enough that they reduced his formula that he receives and put him on regular Flinstones Complete vitamins, this is just exciting to us. He goes back to Omaha sometime around the 1 year anniversary of his transplant and then they don't expect to see him except for annual, yes annual, checkups, it's amazing, beyond amazing.

We got to spend Thursday evening and night with our friends who have come so far with us, been so close to us and that we care so deeply for that we often forget they are 'just friends' and call them family. John was thrilled to get to play with the kids and we loved visiting and the little one even snuggled up with both of us and then this morning before we left made sure that John's hair was properly poofed for the road.

I was surprised on the way home how easy the tears flowed. It is so emotional to go to Omaha, so many times we made that trip just hoping for more news and another thing to do to keep John alive a little longer, and then came transplant and all the fear and compassion and mercy and visible miracles and now we come home with this amazing boy, this boy who is so close to the all important one year mark, with the boy who for the first time in his life we have real hope that we will see him as a teen and as an adult, the tears of joy mix with the tears for the family of the donor and in all of it is our hope in Christ and feelings that are just too big to keep inside.

To finish the day we stopped to get apples and peaches from the local orchard and then of course to retrieve our 'friend dog' from the vets office where she was being boarded. John was so happy to see her and we are so happy to be here, home, together with all these days of promise ahead.