Things Are Great

Well, I have been bad by not posting for a while. We have been so enjoying our new found "freedom" at home, that I haven't been inside much. Here is the short story of our last month.

We've had plenty of challenges, but overall they are minor. Garrett is doing great! His health is holding up and with a few small changes to his medicine, he's been getting A's from his check-ups. We had a little scare when he got an upper respiratory thing, but it turned out to be allergies and no hospitalization was needed. We continue to guard that carefully, as he's months from having a good immune system.

Kathy and I have been very protective of the kids, physically and emotionally. I have tried to prevent any major emotional trauma to them, as they have had enough to last a while. Just after we got home, one of the kids' dogs got kicked by a horse and broke his leg. Then a few days later, one of the other dogs got poisoned. They both required stays at the vet, and one surgery, but both are recovering well. Then we had a pasture fire that could easily have burned down the buildings, but the wind changed suddenly and pulled the fire in another direction. We lost a few acres, but dodged another bullet. Last weekend I thought our luck had finally run out. Garrett's been doing so well and everyone is healing inside so nicely, and then I got a call at work. Kathy had run the horses in and Garrett's mare had developed a huge tumor inside of her left nostril. I sent a vet over and he called me with bad news. The tumor is a rare one, but a fatal one. We had no choice but to put her down.

The news brought tears to my eyes. I asked him to have until Saturday so I could prepare the kids and let them say goodbye. I knew this would crush their spirit. They had been through so much and could not wait to get home to their animals and had already almost lost two. Garrett had cried only days earlier, wanting to ride his horse. He was getting to the point we were going to let him, as she is a gentle old soul who is great with the kids. He'd lost a good horse a year ago Christmas, then Jessi lost her horse last fall. They didn't need another hit right now. Saturday morning came and as Garrett and I went out to feed and I prepared to tell him the news, he excitedly said "daddy, she's better!". The tumor had fallen out of her head and was laying on the ground. It was the size of a summer sausage and weighed over a pound. The vet came and said it was a "one in a billion" chance. In all his years as a vet, he had never seen it happen. This truly was another gift from God!

With all we have seen this year, we continue to be blessed every step we take. I am absolutely the luckiest man. I have been given so many extra chances with my children, and they continue to bring joy to all they meet.

We continue to bring Garrett up to the hospital every week for a full goin'-over, but so far, so good.

Thanks for all the continued prayers and good thoughts. We serve a fantastic, loving God!

May He smile on you all as much as he has us.

JD

May 24, 2008 - Nicholas and His Miracles

This entry is dedicated to little Nicholas Greenwood who passed peacefully into the arms of our Loving God recently. I learned tonight that Nicholas , through the complete unselfish and loving decision of his family to share Nicholas' life with others, was able to give new life to three other children. Though Nicholas is physically gone from this life and is resting in the arms of Jesus, three other families have received the gift of new life through organ donation.

Please pray for Nicholas, his incredible family and their selfless love for others, and the children and families who now have a new beginning.

Like Darren, Nicholas continues to live on and on through the miracle of shared life. These boys are forever in our hearts. So too, are their families. In their time of terror and pain, they thought not of themselves, but of others who also prayed for healing. May God in His infinite wisdom and love, comfort them and heal their broken hearts.

JD

May 23, 2008

They last few days have been full of every emotion in the spectrum. Garrett got a visit from a good friend (Doug) who is a helicopter pilot with the Pennsylvania State Police. Doug rode his motorcycle 30 hours to hand deliver a big check for Garrett's medical fund. We were completely dumbfounded. This is the second major fund raising event people have created to help with bills and expenses relating to Garrett's lifelong continuing medical treatment. While hard to accept, we are so humbled and appreciative of the goodness of so many.

On an extremely tragic and sad note, little Nicholas died suddenly last night. Nick is the little boy whose story struck such a chord in us just a few days ago. We have met with his family a few times. His dad and I prayed together over Nick only yesterday. Little Nick was such a beautiful child and he leaves behind a family with broken hearts. There are no rhymes or reasons for why some folks get more chances than others. When notified of Nick's passing today, they told me that getting to know Garrett for a few short days inspired them to make a decision to donate Nicholas' organs. All too familiar tears came as we all cried for the little boy Garrett never got to know, but had prayed for and delivered gifts to.

I ask anyone reading this post to please pray for Nick's family, and to pray for those children who will receive a second chance at life because of Nicholas and his family's unselfishness.

In Christ,

JD

May 21, 2008

Hi Folks,

Things are going really good. The blood tests and check up the other day showed that our little Warrior has gained another pound and everything else looks great. Being home has helped so very much already. Everyone is happier and Garrett is eating and sleeping much better. Not one nightmare since coming home!

Garrett and I are in Denver tonight for a check up in the morning, so we're having a "boys night out". A McFlurry and SportsCenter... It doesn't get much better than that! Tomorrow we'll stop in to see a little boy we learned about a few days ago. We met his folks on Monday. Nicholas is a 6 year old boy in a comma with a traumatic brain injury. He is very, very sick and needs so many prayers. So do his folks and siblings. Please pray for them. Garrett wanted to give Nick a stuffed horse and baseball, so we stopped in. His dad is a fireman and I feel a natural connection to him. We bonded immediately. It's hard for emergency service workers to be victims and then suddenly you're thrust into the role. Nick's dad is amazing, though, and has a great deal of inner strength. Tomorrow they are to learn about recent tests that will tell a lot about their future. Again, please keep them in your prayers.

Garrett got to see his class today. After days of begging, I finally gave in. I ran interference like a pub bouncer if any kid got within 6 feet of him. Actually, it was really nice for him to see his classmates before they finished for the year, and no-one touched him. He sat in a chair about 10 feet from his class for about 20 minutes and told his story and answered questions. I was very proud of how he handled it. He even showed off his scars.

Each and every day I learn something more from these kids who have been through so much. It's hard to express in this forum, but suffice to say I am the luckiest and proudest daddy around. I realize the road ahead is still very long, but the future looks so bright right now. Everyone is healthy and we intend to stay that way.

God Bless you all,

JD

WE'RE HOME !!!!!!!!

By the Grace of God and special favors from the doctors, we were allowed to come home this week! After Garrett's biopsy, they surprised us by letting us come home a few days ago. The doctors have been very understanding, realizing the stress on the family being away from home. They are so pleased with Garrett's progress, that they decided to let us sleep under our own roof. Since the roads are good now, we can commute to the hospital from here. They also said they are doing this because we have been through it before and they don't have to "train" us about what to look for or do if Garrett has sudden problems. The rules of the game stay the same, in that we have to be back to Denver frequently for blood work and a complete check ups. In those cases, we will just stay in a hotel overnight to be at the hospital 1st thing the next morning and spend the day there. Most likely it will be 2-3 times a week.

I cannot express the overwhelming feelings we have all experienced in the past few days. Listening to the kids laugh and yelp as they play with their new barn kittens and just run around the yard. I can tellyou that beautiful sound has brought moisture to this old cowboy's eyes. It has though, been a little challenging to convince Garrett that just because he's home, doesn't mean he can do everything and go anywhere. He still cannot be around crowds of people or anyone with even a cold. But just being able to sleep in our own home is amazing!

The Little Warrior is charging forward with his family in tow. We never imagined they would let us come home so early, but it is yet another testimony to the power of prayer and the answer being "YES". Momma's a little nervous, but I know this move is a very good sign. Now we'll just try to remember what it was like to be here. Lotsa cobwebs, dirty pens and dead grass to clean up. Never had so much fun cleaning up the place. As spring brings new life to our part of the planet, we get to have a new beginning with it. And it is that much sweeter because of all of your support and love. Thank you!

'Ain't God great?!

May 7, 2008

Well, great news today! The hospital called and Garrett's pathology from the biopsy was read as an R-1, which is "fantastic". There were only a few little cells of concern, but not enough to treat for now. He will have another biopsy in 4-6 months. Overall, the results of the surgery were as much as we could hope for. God is good!!!!!!!! Garrett's body is accepting his new heart really well. We'll adjust his medication a little to bring his levels up to par and continue to come in a few times a week for blood work and a thorough diagnostic, but now it looks as though we can start to heal emotionally and seek some 'normal' living, with obvious restrictions. At least there will be no immediate anticipation of any more surgery for a while.

We had a little bit of an anxious last few days, hoping and praying that everything would turn out well, and our prayers were answered with a resounding "Yes". Garrett didn't even have nightmares last night, which were expected from some of the medication he had to be on yesterday. He did see little orange butterflies when he woke from surgery and it was kind of funny as he drowsily tried to reach up and catch one in the recovery room. But at least he didn't have any giant gnomes or grizzly bears chasing him! :-)

These past few days have been filled with emotional highs and lows. Garrett was so scared for the surgery, and we tried to stay positive but also deeply prayed for no rejection. We also learned of the sudden passing of a very good friend. He epitomized the term "Cowboy Gentleman". Please keep Frank's family in your prayers. I know he is in paradise today.

Life is so very fragile, and we are blessed to have this little life charging forward with no signs of slowing down. The future looks very bright.

More good news soon. God bless you all and thank you again for all the continued support.

JD

May 6, 2008

Praise be to God and thanks for the prayers! Garrett came through his biopsy surgery very well today. It was a tough start as they poked 4 holes trying to start an IV with no luck. Then they gave him a shot in the fanny to put him out, and ended up putting an IV in his leg.

Doctors came out after a few hours and said everything went well and all looks good. We should have information on the pathology from the biopsy tomorrow sometime. We have to go back in the morning for a blood draw, but other than that it will be a day of rest.

Last thing Garrett said he remembers before they put him out today was "you (daddy) and me saying it was time to cowboy up". Gotta love it.

God Bless,

JD