another try!

Monday (October 6) is the new date for Elijah's SPECT scan! We are hoping that all the paperwork will have cleared and Elijah will also be able to start Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on Monday or Tuesday as well. We are excited and thankful for this opportunity...and are asking the Lord to use this to do great things in Elijah's life.

We are praying for the small (yet huge) things to improve as a result of HBOT, like his sleep habits, his reflux issues, and the irritability that we have dealt with for most of the past two and a half years. We don't write much about Elijah's fussiness here, and most of the pictures you see are of a happy little boy. Elijah has improved from being a baby who cried constantly to a little guy that IS very content and "smilie" (when he wakes up in the morning or right after a nap)...and those times absolutely melt us!! They help make up for the rest of the day when he is crying and wanting to be held.

So, so many times I fight the urge to not compare our lives with what they would be like were Elijah 'normal'. Most of the comparisons I'm tempted to make don't just involve what Elijah would be doing, but how much more peaceful life would be if Elijah wouldn't cry the entire time he's in his carseat, or scream while grocery-shopping with me, or have to cry hours just to fall asleep -- at least not on an every-day basis.

So, while I am very thankful for all the progress Elijah has made, it just feels like we have been operating under a lot of stress as a family for a long time. We can keep going, and we will...because the Lord is our strength, and He gives times of incredible JOY despite hard circumstances! However, it would THRILL us to no end if Elijah could make some improvements that would make taking care of him easier for his Mommy and Daddy!

We don't want to limit God to the "small" improvements, though. We know it's way beyond unlikely -- more like impossible -- but we are praying that Elijah will be able to walk and talk someday. Nothing is too hard for God. Maybe the Lord will use the hyperbaric oxygen therapy to accomplish those things. Maybe not, and maybe He won't ever choose to. Whatever the case, we are so thankful for our little boy, for the God we serve, and for the prayers of His people.