DAY FIVE: Home Sweet Home

By -

HOME! Thank you Lord Jesus. We arrived in Sapulpa just in time to greet Grandma and Grandpa Groves at the door. They're staying with us so they can attend Mini-Laps in the morning. Then we ate dinner, came home and WALKED for Momma, Sophia and a big crowd including Grammie and Grandpa Ken.

1. OPENING NIGHT (MORNING): Elijah arrived at Shriners and immediately got to work. Watch him take steps as Leslie does little more than steer the walker from behind. You'll also see him chattering about what he's looking forward to this morning. He was just in such a good mood, until we put him in the walker. We were all as tired as he was. BUT HE DID IT. (He also says hello to all our family members, with a little help from his Dad.)

2. TRANSITIONS: We meet a new friend in the therapy room, we say goodbye to our awesome therapy team, and we say HELLO to Sophia and our very own living room.

3. THE MAIN EVENT: Elijah takes his first steps for Momma and Sophia. Then, we invite some friends and family to the back porch and do it all over again. It was a special gift to Melissa that she could watch Elijah's progress throughout the week with the uploaded videos, but there's nothing like the real thing. Elijah is THRILLED to be home with his Mom!

See you tomorrow at Mini-Laps! Dad's going to pass out now.

Comments

Anonymous said…
What a thrill that you are all together! Will be thinking about you tomorrow and can't wait to see the video. You (all four of you) are my heroes! Love ya, Great Aunt Lesli & Uncle Carl
September 24, 2010 at 11:12 PM
Anonymous said…
What a great homecoming. Eli has come so far this week. Thank you for the updates. Eli has a great desire to accomplish the near impossible. The family is so great to be there for all of you. Love you all and praying for you
Pete and Linda
September 25, 2010 at 8:31 AM
martinmom said…
AWESOME! What an amazing moment and an inspiring little guy. Thank you for your story. I am friend of Amy Ball's and my 11 month old daughter Emmarie is also a patient at the Shriner's hospital in Shreveport. She was born with congenital defects in both hands. I have such a deep admiration for your family and will continue to pray for you all.
September 27, 2010 at 11:46 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tell us who you are

By -
Take a minute to sign into the blog, then reply to this post. Tell me, and everyone, who you are and what Elijah means to you. If you're the friend of a friend, then you're family now. Remember, the best blog strings go on for miles. As you view our list of friends, know that we keep each of you in our prayers just as you pray for Elijah. Dave
Read more

Is God Listening? I Believe He Is...

By -
Elijah's feet will be amputated tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Central. Tonight, both sets of grandparents are at their hotels, and so is Melissa and my sweet daughter Sophia. It's just me and Eli in the hospital room, watching TV and trying to settle down after a long day of blood draws, x-rays, measurements and several dozen forms to read and sign. Everybody keeps asking me how I'm doing tonight, because they can see something dark in my eyes. I'm trying to stay positive, but I'm somewhere between moderately jovial and barely coherent. And let's face it -- I've made it my personal mission in life to be the one who reassures everyone else, who always sees the silver lining and the ultimate goal. So when you hear me admit that I'm making the people around me sad, it's doubly upsetting, because I'm usually the person you go to when you feel sad. About ten minutes ago, I finished pouring some food into Elijah's tummy via his G-tube. After I removed the ...
Read more

16 Steps To Victory

By -
Dad reporting in, late at night (11:27 p.m.): Not a creature was stirring, until from the baby monitor there arose such a clatter, Elijah sitting up in his crib talking to himself at the top of his lungs. Seriously, a conversation complete with questions, answers, exclamations and thoughtful responses (i.e. "Hmm! Yeah!") I just had to get him out of bed and play with him, and also give him some more to eat. On the way upstairs, he asked me to put him on the floor of the foyer. Before I knew what was happening, he had climbed the first three steps of the flight leading to our second floor. These first steps curve and each have about twice the surface area of the other steps, so when he got to the first proper stair, I thought he might slow down or ask me to pick him up. Instead, he bore down on the step and said, "I'm climbing, Daddy!" And climb he did. One step, then the next, and although I had a hand hovering behind him the whole way, I never once had to use i...
Read more