Turning 5

As I sit down to write this post tonight, I remembering back to what I was doing exactly 5 years ago at this moment.  Deb and I were all set to close on our first house the next day.  I got Ryan into bed and sat down to watch some TV when I got that phone call.  Deb was at work, but was having contractions.  We had so many false alarms that she decided to wait it out and finish her shift at work.  I don't think either of us really thought that we were less than 12 hours away from our 2nd son being born.

Every year it is amazing to think back and remember everything that our family has experienced over the last 5 years.  Such a roller coaster ride Sam has brought to our life.  Being told that your child will not live to be 2 years old changes your life in many ways.  

For us it was a call to action, a challenge of sorts, and it wasn't one that we were going to give up easily on.  People meet us, hear our story, and comment on how strong we are, how amazing we are, and how we just seem to have it so together.  We put on a good show.  We are not especially strong, or amazing.  We certainly don't have it all together.  We have just refused to give up from day one, We fight for our child everyday.  We never let our challenges interfere with giving Sam every opportunity and life experience that any other child his age would have. 

With the help of so many people in our families and community, Sam has grown into quite the amazing 5 year old.  He is sweet, sensitive, well adjusted, and happy.  He embraces our frequent trips to Boston and tackles each one with a sense of adventure.

While we can't know for certain what the future may hold for Sam, it is definitely looking bright.  He has had a very healthy year and has make huge progress on his speech and language.  Some days it's easy to forget what a struggle other days can be.  We are reminded by the other children in our "medically fragile" family how truly lucky we are to be spending as much time as we are at home, issue free. 

Another summer is almost upon us which will mean another season of camping, swimming, amusement parks, and dreaming big and living life.

None of that would be possible without the man pictured above with Sam.  We owe so much to Dr. Puder for what he has done for Sam and so many other kids like Sam.