Samuel's 36th Update

Yes, you really are seeing what you think you are seeing. Samuel is pushing up off the bed on his hands and supporting his own head and body weight. He remained in this position for about two minutes and turned towards me when I called his name. How’s that for someone who supposedly can’t move his body voluntarily? Needless to say we were very excited. Our nurse, the Therapist who was present at the time, my parents, and all of my siblings crowded into the room buzzing around like excited bees. It was a tremendous blessing for our family to witness this gracious act of the Lord.

Samuel has continued to gain fluid. Since Saturday he has gained 3 to 3 ½ oz. every day. Nobody can figure out what is going on or what to do about it, so I believe the general consensus is this is just another aspect of caring for Samuel’s daily needs. When the Lord is ready to fix this He will, and if it’s just part of His purpose for Samuel then Samuel will continue to deal with and endure under it.

Samuel has had a number of diet changes recently, the biggest one being that we are now adding fresh pureed carrots to his feedings. We keep telling him there is a whole world of food his taste buds are anxious to experience, but he’s got to get swallowing down before he can explore them. He’s still not interested in the prospect, but we hope someday he will be. As the weeks go on we are going to slowly introduce him to bananas and sweet potatoes. It was quite shocking the first time to see how orange a teaspoon of carrots turned his milk.

Samuel’s lungs have been junky as of late but at this point haven’t developed into anything real major. We’re just watching and monitoring things. Samuel’s temp seems to be regulating a bit more. He’s not constantly one extreme or the other. For the last month he’s fluctuated somewhere in the 97.2 to 98.4 range. This is a very big step in the right direction and will make travel and daily life much easier on Samuel if he can keep his temperature manageable.

And of course we mustn’t forget his exciting news! Samuel now has two front teeth (they came a little early for Christmas) and a bottom tooth that has poked thru. If that wasn’t enough the poor guy has two other teeth rising up under the surface of his gums, and a canine that is quite determined not to get left in the dust! This has sent Samuel’s oral secretions thru the roof however the bright side is that he seems to have no apparent ear infections and hasn’t been running a fever. Praise the Lord!! I’m trying to get pictures of his teeth, but the camera doesn’t want to focus in on them, which is a pity because they look quite cute. Oh well! You'll just have to come see them at his open house birthday party!

All in all things are pretty stable for Mr. Samuel for the moment and we are enjoying some wonderful signs of growth. May the Lord bless you in the warm days ahead.

Kaitlyn