Another Eve

This time last year, we were preparing to take Ari to Portland for an MRI to check to see if radiation had been successful at keeping the cancer away from his body.  It's been almost exactly one year from when we received the first of a string of good results from MRIs.  Tomorrow, we will pack our sons up in the car along with their books, toys, blankets, diapers, and changes of clothes, and we'll make the all-too-familiar trip to Portland for yet another trip into the magnetic imaging tube.  Our hearts are heavy with the weight of the unknown, but we cling to the joy that we continue to experience as we see Ari heal and recover from such a rough road of treatment, surgeries, and complications.

Ari has had a busy couple of months since his last string of tests.  He continues to receive physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, feeding therapy, and audiology assistance in his recovery.  Those appointments, coupled with Everett's infant needs and tummy troubles, keep us busy throughout the week.  Ari is now cruising around furniture quite skillfully and has just discovered how to round the corners of furniture without having to sit down on the ground.  He is crawling all over our home and has become pretty skilled at managing tight spaces.  As a result of his work with our wonderful PT, he is now beginning to crawl up our stairway, as well.  He needs help with some of the sequencing of the movement, but he is becoming stronger and more able as the days/weeks progress.  He continues to walk in his gait trainer, and we are now taking him to larger spaces to walk more (mainly Target and Colby's physical therapy clinic).  We are so thankful for his progress!

We continue to work with his eating as well; however, we know it could be a very slow process.  We're thankful for the expertise of our newly-found feeding specialist!  He is tolerating his stomach feeds through his G-tube as we try to move away from overnight continuous feeds and more boluses throughout the day.

We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as Ari goes in for his routine 3-month MRI tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. PST.  We are hopeful for clear results and stable fluid spaces.  We would ask you to pray specifically for those things.  We also ask that you would join us in praying for full recovery and restoration of Ari's function, both cognitively and physically.  We may find out results via phone tomorrow afternoon/evening, but since his MRI is later in the morning they may not have time to call us.  We will try to update people as we know more.  Thanks, as always, for caring for our family and loving our Ari from close and far away.

Ari reading books with mama.

Our good friend, CJ, was kind enough to take some family pictures for us a few weeks ago!