It's a Hard Day

No pictures today--Sammy is not at his finest. Today everything is catching up to him. He is in a lot of pain and both of his eyes have swollen shut. It's very scary and confusing to hear the noise of a hospital but not be able to see what is happening around you. The doctor prescribed some medicine that hopefully will reduce the swelling, and they are taking him off iv fluids since he is able to eat on his own now. That means as soon as he can open his eyes and walk on his own we will be able to go home. We hope that will be tomorrow but the doctor said he thinks more likely it will be Sunday. We just want to get home--a hospital is no place for a person who needs some rest!!

Please keep Sam in your prayers today; he needs them.

Thanks everyone!

Surrounded by Love

Sam is doing well today. He is having some pain, and his eye is swollen shut which is driving him crazy, but he is coping well. An MRI was done this morning and everything looks good. So we will be moving out of the ICU at some point today and into a regular room.

Sam is getting a lot of security out of all of the love and prayers being sent to him. He especially is comforted by his baby blanket that Aunt Kim made, and his new stuffed animal friends. Thanks to everyone for all your love and prayers--they are working--God is definitely watching over Sammy.

Awake!

Sam woke up for a few minutes. He talked to us, he moved everything, he asked for water and swallowed fine, he even read the card on a FABULOUS gift from our friends the Matejkas! He is looking great! The pain started to set in after he was awake for a little bit, as well as his aversion to light and noise. So our wonderful nurse was quick with the pain meds, and he is probably going to be kept mostly asleep (except for hourly neurological tests) tonight. Right now he is curled up with his little penguin friend and he is wearing eye shades that Aunt Cheryle brought him. She is so clever!!! Thanks for checking on our Sammy. We can't tell you how much we aprreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Getting Ready

Here are some pictures of Sam in preop this morning. He is wearing super cozy feetie pajamas from Aunt Margaret and has a new penguin friend from the Hardys'. He loved it all so much! In fact, the nurse tried to give him a new teddy bear and he said, "No, you should save it for a kid who doesn't already have a special friend." Later he saw a little girl in her room with the bear and he said, "Mom, I think I did something nice--she got that bear!"

The funny things on Sam's head are called fiducials. They are markers for the stealth guided computer that will be used during the surgery. He went off to surgery at about 8:45 am and he was very brave. Not so much mom :(

We don't expect to hear anything for a while, it takes a LEAST an hour to get him hooked up to all the lines and actually start the incision.

Thanks for checking on us...we'll keep you posted.

"Life is Not About Waiting For the Storm to Pass, it's About Learning to Dance in the Rain."

We came down to Phoenix on Tuesday for Sam's pre-op appointments and we stayed overnight at Sam's favorite hotel! It has room service AND a waterpark! What could be better?

Sam and Jake swam and played all day and had a great time. Sam teaches us so much...he truly was loving the moment and not worried about the future at all.

Jake's birthday is Friday, so we had an early celebration at the hotel's Wild West themed restaraunt. Perfect for a cowboy like Jake!!

Preparing for the Big Chill

Today we stacked our firewood for winter. The boys gave us so much help. You can tell by their dirty faces that they were very hard workers!

Happy Halloween!

This year we celebrated Halloween at our church's Trunk or Treat. This is a picture from the side of Our Lady of the Holy Nativity Chapel. The parents decorated their cars and the kids trick or treated from trunk to trunk. It was a lot of fun!

John, manning our car.


Will really loved passing out candy!

G.I. Sam

Our friend Beth and Will

Will has discovered Hersheys and boy does he love chocolate!

The object of this game was to eat the donut on the string without using your hands. It was a lot more difficult than you would think, but if you know Jake and Sam you know their passion for donuts. Jake did not give up--he conqured that donut--using every possible position!

Another lollipop for Will. Thankfully he doesn't have any teeth back there to rot!

Our crazy boys! Will would not keep his hat on for the picture, but take it from me he makes one darling scarecrow!!!