Eli's Journey

A very good friend of David and mine had surgery yesterday to have a baseball-sized tumor removed from her brain. Her name is Susie and she could use your prayers for a speedy recovery and cancer-free diagnosis. Susie's two small kids are good friends of Sophia and Eli. David and I are good friends with Susie and her husband James. The doctors found the tumor on August 25 and removed it four days later in an all-day surgery. I can empathize with the words that changed their lives...but hopefully changed only for a temporary time of recovery. Eli is doing very well. He had his firs two days back at school for the year. He did very well. He was very tired...even yesterday, which is his day off each week. He learns and grows so much at the LLH . Be sure to support Eli's mini lap if you are able and if you are not able, pass the request on to a friend. The cause is so worthy...the kids accomplish amazing things www.littlelighthouse.org then click on donations and mini laps...be su...

So, it is true, my son now sports the greatest thumb in the entire world. What an honor bestowed on him. I promised pictures. So, I'm posting one we took the day before the surgery (notice the giant YES stamped on his arm...a source of great humor for me surgery after surgery after surgery) and one today in the cast. We have to wait until September 15 to see the greatest thumb in the entire world in it's un -casted state, but it will be worth the wait. Eli's favorite words: truck, mama, eah , no, yay , up, move please, thank you, welcome, paci , ifford , there it is, hi. Today, we met with Elijah's teacher at the greatest school on Earth, The Little Light House. I always leave so energized and encouraged about Elijah's future. I'm always excited to know that he will develop and grow in their delicate care. I found Eli sitting in his crib today...twice. Just cracks me up. You see, Elijah's arms haven't really allowed him the pleasure of helping himself b...

Elijah is slowly becoming his pre -surgery self. He is enjoying playing and smiling again . We've been having some difficulty getting his food to stay in his tummy, but it is improving. He seems only slightly bothered by his cast...hopefully I can get you a photo today. Love, Melissa

Eli is doing very well. He slept from after surgery (about 10:30 a.m.) until 3 p.m. Then he woke ready to hang out with his dad. He's such a strong human...they both are. I cannot wait to post a photo of Elijah's new thumb. He is in a long-arm cast, but I can see the tips of his three fingers and thumb. The doc positioned his hand like he is holding a glass. Very, very cool. It will be 8 weeks before we get to see the results without the cast. The hand doc said we must keep Eli's wrists in splints to maintain the straightening we've done in the last year. He also said we should wait 6 months to do his other thumb so we can make sure Eli is able to use the one we just did. So, that will leave us a small gap in his surgery schedule to slip in the first step on his legs. I'm not super excited to rush this surgery, but in my heart I know it is the necessary thing for Elijah no matter how hard it will hurt me. Perhaps we will be back in 3 months to amputate his precious,...

Eli is in recovery. He did great. The doc said that the muscles he wanted to move over were there. He had three muscles going to the pinky and one going to his thumb. Doc moved two of the pinky muscles over to the thumb so that he will have greater strength in the thumb. Good news. Love to all, Melissa

Sophia and I arrived at the hospital at 6:15 a.m. David was up and dragging around about to wake Eli for his special soap bath. I encouraged David to go to our hotel room and get some real sleep for a few hours and he did. We need him later in the day so our routine really works. I gave Eli his bath and helped get his vitals. He had already had his I DON'T CARE med, but it wasn't working fast enough to help him through the pre -surgery activities. My mom and dad are here and arrived about 6:30. The doctor called for Eli right at 7 and I carried him up the elevator to the surgery area. I laid him in his crib and they wheeled him away watching Clifford on one of the hospital's mini DVD players. They take such great care to make sure my kid is not scared. Eli didn't even wink an eye as he went away. So, we took up residence in the surgery waiting room and made it about 10 minutes when the phone rang. The nurse said the doctor wanted to talk to me and he'd be right out....

Today, Sophia learned that it really is difficult to know how to maneuver hotel showers. And, if the guess on how to make sure the drain is unplugged is wrong...an overflowing could occur. Sophia learned that not all shopping malls are two stories. In fact, two in Shreveport are only one. She also learned that when you are shopping in Claire's you can feel like you are at home in your own Claire's store until you come out to that one-story mall. Sophia also learned what we do while we are in Shreveport with our precious baby boy. She saw him suffer through harmless vitals and painful blood draws, but she also saw him have such fun in the very kid-friendly play rooms. Sophia built a tower out of BIG wooden blocks. When it fell over...many came running...they said it sounded like one of the kids had taken a terrible tumble. We were a bit embarrassed , but everyone just laughed. Sophia and I agreed to make it big, but low next time. We are staying in three different hotels for o...

Tomorrow, we will leave for Shreveport. The process is feeling all too familiar. I posted pics yesterday of Elijah playing at the Splash Pad in Sapulpa . After this week's surgery, he will again be in a full arm cast and unable to enjoy water. Honestly, I can only imagine what must go through Elijah's head as we allow him to endure such pain and agony. I hope it hurts me more than it actually hurts him, but I truly doubt that is the case. Sophia will go with us this time for the first time. She is looking forward to the trip. I know it will hurt her deeply to see her baby boy in pain. She is one of his adamant protectors. In my heart, I believe it will strengthen Sophia to be a part of this journey in such a personal way. She will understand more clearly the reason Daddy and Mommy leave her so regularly to take Eli for a procedure. She will see first hand the transformation of Eli's new thumb. Thank you for your prayers. Please pray that Elijah's thumb really is a thu...

Eli is doing really great. It makes me so sad that he has to endure his 10 th surgery coming up on August 12. Of course, it is really great that he is feeling so great, which means he is in his best condition for surgery. Pray he stays that way...it is very important. Pray his slight runny nose goes away too. The rest of the Ramirezes are just fabulous today. David's back is feeling good. He's had some rough days in the past few, but today it is rested and doing well. I googled pollicization , which is Eli's upcoming surgery, and I found this interesting blog about another extraordinary kid. You can see his pollicization here . Of course, for minute-by-minute play-by-play of Eli's pollicization ...stay tuned here. Love you all, Melissa