Showers of blessings!

At lunch I was surprised with these gifts for our family.  I am again speechless.  EIS is a very special school...we take care of each other.  I love all of my teammates!  #Godisfaithful

The countdown has begun!

The weather is gorgeous today!  John Thomas is enjoying being outside playing on the hill with his friend, Ryan.  This time next week, he'll be in recovery and the surgery will be behind us.  6 more days.....

Balloon Soccer

John Thomas enjoyed playing "balloon soccer" in P.E.  I love getting pictures of him during the school day!

Surprise!

My sweet homeroom class and EIS Care Committee surprised me with 2 baskets of gifts for John Thomas and a basket of gift cards to restaurants for our family. My heart is full!  #GodisFaithful

Headed to Florida!

Brad, John Thomas, and myself will fly to Florida on Monday, Feb. 2nd.  After the consultation with Dr. Paley, we will decide which path we should take for our boy to get better.  If agreed, the surgery for John Thomas will be on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd.  We are so grateful for this opportunity and anxious for our boy to feel better!  Thank you for your continued prayers for  John Thomas and our family!

Divine Intervention

Our previous childrens' minister, Jennifer Scott, found out about John Thomas' diagnosis.  She is on staff at St. Mary's Children's Hospital in West Palm Beach, Florida.  Her daughter, Abby, is a patient of  Dr. Paley.  Jennifer reached out to us and urged us to come to Florida for a second opinion.  After Dr. Paley saw the x-rays of John Thomas, he said we needed to find flights to Florida a.s.a.p.  John Thomas is a candidate for a procedure that can be done in the first phase of Perthes that will shorten the recovery time, put him in a brace and out of the wheelchair.

Visit to Scottish Rite Hospital

We went to Scottish Rite on Jan. 7th in Dallas.  We were hoping for a different treatment plan.  It was so hard to keep John Thomas in the wheelchair, and he was in a lot of pain!  Dr. Kim was wonderful but confirmed the diagnosis that we received in Dec.  The treatment plan was to keep John Thomas in the wheelchair and to have a walker for home. At this point, Dr. Kim said that he would be in the wheelchair 12-18 months, depending on how his body healed.   We were scheduled for another x-ray in March.  Dr. Kim wanted to make sure that the head of the bone didn't collapse. 

We thought it was a pulled muscle.

On Dec. 12th John Thomas was diagnosed with Perthes disease. 

This disease caused from bloodflow not getting to the hipbone causing the bone to die.  There are 4 phases of this disease and can last from 1 year to 2 years.  John Thomas was ordered by the doctor to be in a wheelchair indefinitely.