03 May A milestone
One year ago today we drove up to our house in a rented minivan after a three-day road trip home from Boston, signifying the end to over 8 months inpatient. Since then, Keegan has spent only three days in the hospital. I was reminded tonight that our life is not completely different from a year ago, as I changed the sheets on Keegan’s bed in the dark for the millionth time from a busted open feeding tube. And yet, things have changed so dramatically, I can hardly believe it!
- Keegan has gone from 20+ hours of tube feeds a day to 10 hours run only overnight.
- He has dropped three medications.
- He has not had a blood transfusion in a year.
- He eats a much larger variety of normal toddler foods – enough to keep him off the feeding pump during the day. This time last year, he really only was eating yogurt melts and some Gerber puffs.
- He has gone from under 10% on weight/height charts at this time last year to almost the 50% in both. His weight for length is squarely in the 50% range too! It’s even harder to believe that it was only a year ago that he actually made it ON the weight/height charts!!
- He says a handful of words, including “mama”, and is starting to imitate even more, compared to only “hi” and “bye” at this time last year.
I wish I had the words to describe how in awe I am of his progress, especially in just the last few weeks! We are amazed to constantly see the hand of God working in Keegan’s life, and the prayers and support of you, our family and friends, are a huge part of that. Thank you so much for continuing to love our son and our family. We are humbled and blessed beyond measure.
Our hope is renewed daily that Keegan is on the road to a much more normal and healthy life. Every milestone such as today is one more step in the right direction and a clearer light for our tunnel. We know that this is just the beginning of the road, and it will have plenty of ups, downs, and crazy twists and turns. But each day we are blessed to have him in our lives is a gift. Having a year of progress and improvement reminds us that even when things are rough, when he does struggle, we can get through it. There is hope, and we will be grateful for each day!