Drew's Journal
December 19, 2005

For those of you who clicked on this icon hoping to read one of Chandra’s incredible journals, I will go ahead and apologize for sneaking my entry in under her name.

I arrived in Houston Saturday afternoon about 3:30, after having driven from Amarillo to Granbury (outside of Ft Worth) Friday night, and then from Granbury to Houston the next morning. It was amazing to see how much Canon and Creed had changed in just one week. Creed appears to be getting stronger by the hour. He can lie on his stomach, and hold up his head with no problem. I remember laying Canon on his stomach (in an attempt to strengthen his neck muscles) and watching him sob with his face buried in a blanket because he was not strong enough to hold up his head. It is incredible how much stronger Creed is than Canon was at respective times during their development. Chandra and I contend that if Creed had been born first, we would have known within the first couple of weeks that something was amiss with Canon’s development.

Speaking of Canon, he is making unbelievable strides… literally. He is walking everywhere. I was back in Amarillo for one week, and he went from crawling almost exclusively, to walking through the apartment whenever and wherever he pleases. It is amazing. The strength and skills that we have been concerned about for so long are appearing within 3 weeks of the transplant. I am amazed at the resiliency of Canon’s little body. He is incredible. I would want to still have a little red button to push to self-dose my morphine. He’s tough as a $3.99 rib-eye and I could not be more proud of him. While I’m on the subject of being proud, I have to shoot some praise towards Chandra. She is doing an amazing job of being a mother, wife, nurse, taxi-driver (in a strange city), pharmacist, and Christmas event coordinator and author. The boys and I are very aware of just how blessed we are to have her.

As Christmas approaches, I can’t help but to think about the donor’s family. Please, please, please continue to pray for them. If their grief is anything like mine and Chandra’s, it will ebb and flow through the years. There will be times that the pain is sharp and throbbing, while other times it will recede to a dull ache. Again, please be in constant prayer for their comfort, and rest.

In reflecting upon the whole transplant event, it has occurred to me how it has been a reflection of our salvation. The donor’s parents made a conscious decision to save the life of another child, through the loss of their own. It is even more personal because of the parents having chosen Canon specifically. In much the same way, God pointed at Canon (and you and me) and said, “I chose you… I want you to have eternal life,” knowing that it was going to cost him his son in order for this to come to fruition. This type of generosity is mind boggling. This new perspective has caused me to view salvation in a completely different manner, and hopefully have a better understanding of it.

I am blessed beyond measure.

Drew