Back to Normal...Kind of!

We are slowly seeing our sweet boy return to his playful, loving self. While I know he is still dealing with some pretty intense feelings of grief and fear, he is so much more himself. His behavior has stabilized and he is laughing more once again. I am so happy to have my little angel back. He is still having some pretty strong "mommy attachment" where he doesn't want me apart from him, but overall he is doing much better. We met with a psychologist on Monday who specializes in working with children with chronic illness. She was really good with him and seemed more then capable of taking Alex on. We are hopeful that this will turn into a long lasting, trusting partnership that will help Alex grow and mature and confidently navigate all the struggles he faces.


One of the ways we have tried to calm Alex's fears and renew his spirit is with special play time with Mommy and Daddy each day. This is dedicated time when we each focus on him and do not answer the phone, get on the computer or become distracted in any other way. We are also doing a "Family Fun Day" each weekend. We made a list of things we would like to do as a family. Each weekend Alex gets to choose something he would like to do. It has been really fun for all of us. This past weekend we had planned on going to the aquarium as that is what Alex had chosen. However, when we woke up Saturday morning, Alex declared he didn't want a typical family fun day. All he wanted was to bring the dogs back inside. (For those of you that don't know, we have two labs. Several years ago when Alex spent 9 months in the hospital and his care became more intense, we had made them outside dogs.) Bruce and I talked about it and agreed we could bring them in. So off to Petsmart we went. We Bought shampoo, new collars, new toys and treats. We washed them and coaxed them back inside. Poor Hayley and Hershey didn't know what to do with themselves for the first hour. They just wandered around. Since then they have settled right in and Alex is thrilled. Hayley is sleeping in his room each night. They follow him around. He has tortured them with "medical procedures" while he plays animal rescue club, has hugged and snuggled Hayley until she runs away, etc. He is just so happy to have our other babies back inside.

In other news, we leave this week to head to Florida for our yearly visit and to celebrate Skye's birthday (Alex's cousin). We are excited to see family and have some fun time. We are very hopeful that Alex can stay healthy as some of his labs that show how well he can fight infection don't look great.

We are so thankful to our incredible friends and family who have lifted us up in prayer and
continued to encourage us through these rough times.

Ali