One Year…

This week was filled with two monumental milestones. On Tuesday, May 6, Ethan became a free man, having all restrictions that he’s lived by for the past eight months lifted. What does this mean to a six year old boy? It means he gets to have a friend over to play INSIDE…it means that he gets to lick the bowl after we make cupcakes (he couldn’t before…raw eggs)…it means he can finally go to the grocery store with mom. Little things…it’s all about the little things in life. Ethan begins this day by coming into our bedroom first thing in the morning. He whispers, “Mom, I’m off restrictions.” We end the day, with having a few of Ethan’s closest friends over, with their families. We hang out. The kids run around outside and inside for hours on end. They play, and play, and play. Ethan’s playing…We believe in miracles…We believe in SuperHeroes…

Before the year 2007, May 7 never meant anything to us. It’s now a date that will never pass without reflection. May 7 makes us eternally grateful. May 7 makes us quiet. May 7 makes us elated. May 7 reminds us how important prayer, faith and hope are. May 7, 2007…the day Ethan was diagnosed. Our lives changed forever on this day. We can recount every second of that day…and the next few weeks and months are now a blur? Our minds have difficulty processing this past year. The longest year? The fastest year?

We find comfort in talking about the year. It helps. We retell good times, and bad times…the best and worst of the year…happy moments…and downright heart-wrenching moments. It helps…

We head to The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, in CT, this weekend. It’s Family Cancer Weekend. Next weekend we head to Disney World, in FL. We’re celebrating. We’re thrilled. We’re blessed. We’re so hopeful.

And while we celebrate our good fortune, we continue to pray for the children and families that are suffering. Why aren’t they as fortunate as we are? Aside from living with the unknown, this is the hardest part…Seeing other children not get “cured”. It’s not fair. Why us, and not them too? We pray for Timmy. We pray for Mary. We pray for Antonio. We pray for Christina. We pray for Jonathan’s family. We pray for Gabe’s family. We pray for Jessie’s family.

Yancy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for everything that you have done for us. Your gave us so much support…you got us to where we are today. We can never repay you for what you’ve done for us. We are eternally grateful.

As always, stay tuned. Continue to be a part of our life…Ethan’s life. We’ll update you on the adventures to come…So many!