Gone Fishin' and Signing Off

At a follow-up visit, Andrew had the pic line removed from his arm. As the doc went to remove it, it wouldn't come out. The doctor's eyes got big and he said "this isn't good". Finally, he got it out. He looked at us as said "I'm going to have to have you go get an x-ray to make sure nothing broke off and stayed in the vein. As we waited in radiology, I leaned over to Randall and said, "it figures, Just as we are crossing the finish line, someone says 'not so fast!!' It all turned out fine. But it did give Andrew's doctor a good scare! So where do we go from here? Andrew has to be very careful through October. His nerve pain has been bad since the surgery. It should calm down as we get the meds built back up in his system. He got the go-ahead to swim so that made him happy. We took him up to camperworld at Echo. We all watched him get into the pool. It was a very happy moment. Andrew draws questions from other swimmers when they see his amazing scars. It is something that he will have to deal with for the rest of his life. That next morning, after sleeping in a tent, he went fishing. He grabbed his pole, didn't have shoes or a shirt on, and headed to the river. It was good for him just to be free to do want he enjoys. Andrew is our own version of "Huckleberry Finn". Life is good and summer is the best time of all! Andrew starts high school soon and is ready to move on with his life. So this is the last blog of an amazing journey. Thanks for sharing your comments, faith and prayers for Andrew. This has changed our lives in many ways. One way being that I never by-pass others in need. We were out on Saturday and noticed a medical fundraiser at the high school for a child with cancer. We had to stop and contribute. You can't imagine what it means to be in a position of spiraling hospital bills. You hope you never have to face it. But we have. So now, we feel compelled to pay-it-forward. I also look at life differently. I just don't get worked up about things that I used to. A lot of stuff that we worry about is truly 'small' in the grand scheme of things. Love your family, spend time with them, and live like each day is your last.