Our little treasure...

Our nephew, Escher is a very special kid. Ok, I know what you're thinking...every kid is special, well, I agree! However, the reason Escher is so special is because the doctors say he wasn't supposed to even be born alive. After he was born, "Oh, he won't live more than a few weeks"...then, "Just be prepared, he probably won't live a few months". This went on for a little while, until they finally asked my brother how he would want his baby to die. Yes, seriously, that question was asked and my brother, being the sensitive person he is, was a bit freaked out. Escher was born with an under-developed colon, which is extremely rare and the doctors really didn't know what to do about it. They did know that he needed a transplant. Escher was put on the transplant waiting list for a donor and all we had to do was wait, which, as we all know, is sad because we were essentially waiting for a child to leave this world and become an angel (Well, that's the way I see it, anyway). So, right around his first birthday, there was a phone call...they found a possible donor!!! They took him in and it was a match! OMGoodness, our little nephew was going to get his operation. At a year old he had a multi-visceral transplant. Six organs were transplanted...large and small intestines, liver, stomach, pancreas, and spleen. He has an ostomy bag and a g-button, which is how he gets most of his meds. He is very private about it, but we're hoping and praying the bag can be removed one day. The doctors also told my brother that Escher could possibly be "slow" and/or have some brain damage. Well, that isn't the case at all! When he was 4 years old he tested on his vocabulary and was on a 4th-5th grade level. When he was 7 he scored the highest on a national second grade test his school had ever seen, and he had missed about half the year for medical reasons and hospitalization (he attends a private Catholic school). That's not even half of it, but y'all get the point. Who wants to hear me go on and on...I'll just give you highlights! He wants to be a doctor because he says he likes to help people. He knows more about the human body than any kid I've ever known, but he's spent a lot of time with nurses and doctors, so it's to be expected, I suppose. :-) He never ceases to amaze us! Well, the point of this blog is to say that he turned 10 today!!!! We had a family birthday party at my mom's house. We shot each other with Nerf guns and he got his first bat, glove, and ball, so we taught him to play baseball! I think he really enjoyed it and I got a great workout!!! I haven't played softball in years, so I was a bit rusty, but we had a lot of fun! He's such an amazing kid and lot of fun to be with. I realize that all children are precious and very special, I just wanted to share ours with y'all! Hope y'all had a wonderful day, too!