In his opinion the best part of his week was his basketball game. He played really well! There were no subs since only 5 kids showed up but playing the whole game was no big deal. He was just fine! He had one play that was awesome...he stole the ball underneath the opponents hoop, dribbled down the court and made a basket on the fast break! I was laughing and crying, everyone was cheering, I was so proud of him!! He's a fun little guy to watch. :)
He's been loving basketball & I'm so happy he keeps up just fine. He's really doing well.
Besides the basketball we went to see his cardiologist in the city & got a glowing report! At the appointment the doctor was satisfied with what he saw on the echo. We had a good long conversation. He told me that generally school age kids with HLHS are on much less medication than Josh requires & that they are typically seen 1x a year. Josh is seen every 3 months by cardiology. I told him about Josh playing basketball and having no trouble keeping up with the other kids. He doesn't ever need extra time to recover, he just keeps going. His cardiologist told me he was very encouraged by this. He said that Josh can have several tests done to check the function of his heart, but there's no better indicator of his heart's well being than him being able to run up and down a basketball court for 30 min. He seemed surprised to hear how well Josh is able to play.
Last night I got a follow up e-mail from the doctor and he said he took a closer look at Joshua's echo and he was very pleased with what he saw. He said that Josh's heart looks incredibly better than it did last April. He said he could even see improvements from the echo he had in September. Such great news!
If that weren't enough, today his teacher told me how well his reading is coming along. She was really impressed with him and told me he's at a beginning first grade level for reading!! I give her all the credit because she really takes the time to teach her students according to their learning style. She's the best! Couldn't have asked for a better teacher for Josh.
I've been meaning to write down some things about Josh that I don't ever want to forget. So here it goes...
Josh is such a funny kid in that he always wants to know the height of everything. He's really into Mt. Everest and uses it as a measuring stick for most of his inquires. For instance, "Mom, is the Sutro tower like 50, 000 feet tall? Is it like 50 times bigger than Mt. Everest?" or "How many feet tall is the Golden Gate bridge, like 80 thousand-million feet? Is it as tall as Mt. Everest?". He's a very curious boy when it comes to the size of things. His questions are constant, he wants to know about everything, especially things that are particularly tall. He's been asking about Mt. Everest for probably 6 months now. It makes us laugh to ourselves every time.
Josh is such a funny kid in that he always wants to know the height of everything. He's really into Mt. Everest and uses it as a measuring stick for most of his inquires. For instance, "Mom, is the Sutro tower like 50, 000 feet tall? Is it like 50 times bigger than Mt. Everest?" or "How many feet tall is the Golden Gate bridge, like 80 thousand-million feet? Is it as tall as Mt. Everest?". He's a very curious boy when it comes to the size of things. His questions are constant, he wants to know about everything, especially things that are particularly tall. He's been asking about Mt. Everest for probably 6 months now. It makes us laugh to ourselves every time.
Josh loves to play sports like crazy. The minute Jon comes home he want to either throw the rugby ball, the football or hit baseballs. Everyday. It's his favorite thing in the world & he's such a coordinated and focused kid. Anyone who knows him at all knows this about him.
Josh is also a very neat boy. You'll never find him with food on his face, hands, or clothes. He's very tidy and likes thing just so. He wears a watch on his right arm, a survival bracelet on his left & they never leave his arms unless he's bathing....and then he replaces them before drying off! He has to have his shoes the exact same tightness. If the left she is too loose he'll take both shoes off and start over. He may have a touch of OCD. :)
He is always my first kid ready for school each day, I never have to remind him to brush his teeth, get dressed, come for a hair-do or pack his backpack. He just does it all and waits by the door, he's ready at least 10 minutes before the others. The girls on the other hand...ugh!!
I can't even begin to contrast Josh today, with Josh a year ago. The most notable difference is his happiness. He's finally himself again, the goofy happy-go-lucky boy we all love so much. I'm sure a lot of it has do do with him feeling much better with good heart function. It's true that going through the hard times help you appreciate the good times. I'm not sure I would be nearly as grateful for Josh's circumstances today had we not passed through the past two difficult years. I thank Heavenly Father everyday for these wonderful blessings.
2 comments:
Josh and Owen sound like mini clones! So similar...aside from the mad basketball skills that josh possesses. :)
Hi There,
I just found your story while looking for some inspiration. My husband and I adopted a little boy with HLHS two years ago (we have had him as a foster child since he was 6 months old). Gabe is finally ready for the Fontan and I'm nervous. I wasn't there for the first two surgeries so this will be my first go round. He just had his pre surgery cath last month and we will get the call from the scheduler on Monday.
It is SO encouraging to hear how well Josh is doing! Thank you for posting.
Nicole Pope
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