{Note: The various links will lead you back to posts that I wrote along the way if you wish to go back and read through a few. There are more… these hit the “highlights” along the way.}
I could have never imagined how this year would go when we rang in the year 2011. Everyone hopes for the best and thinks that “this will be my year.” We had no idea the actual path our lives would take.
When we took our 7 year old to the hospital in January out of concern for her rapid weight loss and chronic constipation issues we did not know the journey that we had begun. 5 days in the hospital and we were just beginning.
Yesterday I took both JJ and Princess to Children’s Medical Center of Dallas for the final appointment with the last of our original team of doctors from January. We had been going to 7 doctors and have slowly been marking them off our calendar one-by-one.
Thursday we said good-bye to our play therapist. Although it was a little bittersweet because of how fond we had become of her, we are confident that we are ready to move on without her!
I can not believe we made it to the other side of this thing!
The ride to the hospital was a flashback of all the events of the past 7 months. As I drove and listened to the Praise and Worship songs coming from the radio, I was reminded of how God was always by our side and never let go of us as we fought for our daughter.
Times got tougher than we had experienced with any of our children and yet we held on to Jesus and sought His face in our trials. I could not have made it through some of those days without Jesus there holding me up. I know I couldn’t. I am not strong enough without Him.
And yet… now… we are almost at the end of our own “Finding Nemo” story line.
From a week in Children’s to weeks and weeks of violent behavior to a week stay in Cook Children’s, I think we took the course that led us “over the trench” rather than through it.
We were stung by a few jellyfish along the way, but now we have all grabbed our exiting buddies are jumping on the East Australian Current out of here. I am praying without ceasing that we never have to make this journey again.
It was a long road and I am elated beyond measure to know we did it! We made it to the other side of the ocean and have found our “Nemo” in JJ.
She smiles, eats, sleeps, cries, laughs and plays with her siblings just as she did before this all happened. She is once again the Princess we remember and love… unconditionally… forever!
Thanks to each of you that have prayed for us and supported us over the past 7 months. We still deal with a few “residuals” from the journey, but, overall, we feel like we have made such huge strides.
Her play therapist is confident that JJ has the tools she needs to continue improving and we are faithful in a Mighty God to know she can do it!
