Funny, Funny, Funny

Rainy Thursday Greetings!

Ok, Carrie has sent me probably the funniest pictures ever. I have laughed so hard I've cried. Here is her latest update with an "explanation" for the pictures!

"Couldn't resist sending you these...:) hee, hee. you have to have fun some way, right??
This is what happens when you have an older sister and it has been raining for a month..." hee, hee.

The other picture is our wonderful physical therapist Robin. Heath was standing on a stool in the kitchen. One bad part of pt--they have to teach them how to climb, etc...to help their progress. Now you turn around for 30 seconds and he is on top of something. I guess I shouldn't complain!!

We were unbelievably moved to learn about the FPC Child Development Center's wonderful fundraiser for us last night. The time and effort that goes into something like that is so great--and we are so grateful for the gift.

I have had many questions about costs, so here is a little bit: The cost of medicine has been pretty shocking--even with good insurance. It has made me wonder how anyone who doesn't have insurance deals with what happened to us. Even with insurance, meds will be a several hundred dollars every 2 months (one of the meds he has to take for life costs $900 a bottle without insurance--isn't that unbelievable??) So, all that is to say--THANK YOU CDC staff and families! I can't really find the words right now.

Yesterday I traveled to Greensboro with both kids to take a look at our house (or as we lovingly call it--"our Greensboro vacation home...") and see what needed to be done. I am not sure what I thought I was going to be able to do with both kids, but I filled the car with yard stuff and cleaning supplies and a few toys and went on my way. Luckily, our angel neighbor, Daphne, found us and promptly potted the flowers I had brought and welcomed us into her home for a chick fil-a lunch picnic. I don't know what we would have done without her! We also got to see our dear friends Abby and Melissa Burris, which was so great. I hadn't realized until I was getting off the exit how I might be emotionally affected by coming back to our house and Greensboro. The last time we were there was the night that I was feeding Heath a bottle on the couch before we headed to UNC for our life to change forever. It was our first house, and one that we loved dearly. So many memories flooded back--it was tougher than I had anticipated. Everything happened so fast that we never really got a chance to miss all our friends and special places in Greensboro and Burlington until now.

We are so excited to be in Durham and especially at Westminster, but it was somewhat cathartic to just get a chance to yearn for the past for a few minutes (only minutes because I was immediately thrown in the world of ella brooks doing the pee pee dance in the middle of the garden store and realizing that I had left my house key in durham as the rain picked up, which quickly brought me back to earth...) :) I love parenting.

Ok, enough thoughts for now. I really just wanted to say thank you to our friends at cdc and embarrass my sweet boy with his dress-up outfit. "

Blessings to all.

Love, Carrie

I'll bet you're smiling!!....

Blessings,

"Gran" Sarah

March 23 Update

An update from Carrie....

So, Heath's 3-month heath cath was on Thursday (March 19). It went very well (results today show that he is NOT rejecting the heart!). In fact, we couldn't believe that we were home watching the ncaa tourney on the couch at 1 pm!! Heath's heart seems to continue to become "elastic," which means that it is pumping even better. They said that the numbers continue to go the way we want! YEAH! We were even told that we could SLIGHTLY join the world again too (no big crowds, still try to not go to the stores, etc...) We should get the results of the biopsy tomorrow. Have we ever explained the biopsy part? They do the regular cath to measure pressures in the heart, and then they take a small piece of the heart to biopsy. This biopsy can tell us in the earliest stages if Heath is having an rejection issues. Remember that there is always some rejection--it would probably be treated just with a change in medication--but knowing early, early could make a huge difference in Heath's health.
Folks have been asking when we will be able to fully join the world again. That is a tricky questions in that Heath will always be immune-suppressed. It will lessen in time, but since it is due to the medicines he is taking and will be taking, we will have to always try to watch it. I get that feeling that by a year we'll be able to get him out more.

Other than that, we're great. Chris is busy with church. Ella Brooks is loving school and church. We are looking forward to getting settled in a house of our own--other than the one we own still in Greensboro. :) We're still hoping to sell that house...but step by step. The good weather has been so fabulous for us. Heath and Ella Brooks have been enjoying the swings at our local playground. It is so great to see his grin as he swings, especially when his best girl (his sister, sometimes his mom) pushes him. He finally got a tooth and now it looks like the rest that we have been waiting for are coming too. Walking is coming--although i think it will be a few more weeks before he really feels comfortable letting go of our hands. We did finally get him some shoes--the adventure to the stride rite at southpoint was quite fun. They were fabulous about wiping everything down for germs and then measuring his feet.

Chris' installation service as pastor of Westminster is next Sunday, March 29 at 3:00 p.m. at Westminster. Dr. Ron Shive is preaching. We would love to have any friends from surrounding areas (Greensboro, Burlington) to join us along with the folks from Westminster. We'd love to see you!

Love to all. We'll try to be a little better about updating in the next couple weeks. Maybe we'll even have a picture of a new house?? :)

Many Blessings,

"Gran"Sarah