Been A While - November 15, 2011

Wow! It's been a while since I've written anything and I have no excuses, other than selfishness. By writing on this blog, I'm forced to deal with some memories that aren't all that fun. However, too many folks wonder how our little Warrior is doing and use this site as a reference. So, here we go!

Garrett has had a really good summer. He got to play baseball for the first time in the last three seasons, without having to quit early. The full season was really good for him and he excelled better than I expected. "Dinger" started every game and even made it to the All Stars, where he had one of the best tournaments of any kid on the team. You sure couldn't tell this boy ever had an issue.

As the summer wound down, Garrett got really excited for "middle school". I've never seen him that happy to go to school, but he really felt a sense of pride that he was getting through elementary and on to the big leagues! It really bothered him that he had to stay back a year because of his illness the past few years.

His excitement has dwindled some since then, because he's found out it's really just school again, but also because his immune system has been so compromised that he's catching every bug that comes down the pipe. He's missed a lot of school already this year and that bothers all of us. I just do not want him to have to be held back again. It would hurt too much. Fortunately, he has some really caring teachers and they are willing to work with us to help him catch up. Add to that the fact that a recent graduate of the Air Force Academy, a 2nd Lt., is willing to tutor Garrett for free! I just found out today. We are charging toward victory here, as well!

Since Garrett turned 12 this summer, he is old enough to hunt big game with daddy now. Through a friend-of-a-friend, Garrett was invited on an antelope hunt in Wyoming, on a ranch where only kids who've endured serious illnesses and wounded veterans can hunt. When we went in September, Garrett had the place to himself that day and harvested the buck of a lifetime! It was a very, very special day for us. The meat has been great and the trophy on his wall will bring back memories for many years to come. Just look at the smile in the picture. It says it all.

As we head into winter now, our sights are getting set on next spring when Garrett will have to endure yet another biopsy surgery. It will be the "big one" again, but we really need to know how his heart is doing. His general health has been all over the map this fall and it's been pretty frustrating. On the bright side, his nightmares have diminished considerably. It's heart breaking when that little guy is afraid to go to sleep. For now, though, we're going to set our feet for the long haul and prepare to sing "happy birthday" to our Lord next month. If Garrett can bring up his grades, 'Santa' has a nice little surprise coming.

I hope all of you remain as blessed as we are, and thank you for all the prayers. We don't know what tomorrow brings, we can't do anything about yesterday, so we'll prepare the best we can and make each new day the victory that it is.

God bless you,

JD