Happy Fourth of July

Elias has really been enjoying the new house. With so many places to go and explore he has really opened up a little in terms of activity. Our place before was limited in options for entertaining and playpen & other toy set up. It may simply be coincidence that he is showing advances in development over the last week, but we like to think the new surroundings are playing a part. It is amazingly bright in the house with many windows for natural light. We took Elias outside for about an hour last night to meet with the neighbors as they congregated in the cul-de-Sac while all their children rode their bikes around the block. It was fun and Elias really enjoyed the fresh air and things to look at.

We have been working Elias into his high chair too. He is starting to get used to it and almost seems to enjoy sitting at the table with us. He plays with a toy or flips pages of a book ( his new favorite thing) while we sit with him. This should add a new element of play/therapy for him until he learns to sit up completely on his own. He is getting closer to being able to do that too! The high chair will hopefully help him reach that goal sooner.  It is amazing how a change in environment can impact daily life. It is so evident watching Elias interact with his new surroundings. It makes having endured all the stress & heartache of the move so worth wild. While we will still have our challenges and issues, being in this bright wonderful new environment takes one more worry off our plate. God has blessed us with this wonderful opportunity to take time out of our crazy lives to enjoy being a family and the ability to cherish the time we all have together. Even without any nursing right now, and it could take 6-12 weeks to even qualify, we find ourselves invigorated and full of energy despite providing the alert care for Elias around the clock. Maybe it is just the newness excitement creating that adrenaline to keep us going. We are sure that contributes, but we think there is more to it. We are not sure what exactly, but one day we will understand fully. Today as we celebrate our country’s independence we especially are thankful we live in a country that enables us the ability & freedom to make the drastic change we have recently made for the betterment of Elias. To seek out the opportunity to give him every advantage medically and personally.  While this move is no guarantee to make everything right, it provides the best tools and the best medical personnel to greater our chances for the life we hope to give Elias. After last night watching him experience fireworks for the first time (from our yard) and seeing the amazement on his face excites us at the opportunity to provide more firsts for him and us to experience. He is in the best place to create that opportunity and for that we are very thankful. Thank you all that helped make this and continue to make this a reality for Elias! Next week begins our journey with the new doctors, new hospital and the Fanconi Anemia Comprehensive Clinic. We are very excited to see how things will improve in his daily management. We also will be comforted with the knowledge that he is being watched over by individuals that truly understand his disease and the hardships that go along with it. Thank God we live in a country that affords us the freedoms we have and we should certainly not take them for granted! Happy Birthday America, God bless you and God bless everyone who has and will have a hand in Elias’ new chapter of life!