Last Wednesday Forester had a clinic appointment for blood labs and a check up. His labs came back looking pretty good and to our surprise Forester was approved to return back to school on Tuesday, January 19th!! Forester was so excited. The look on his face when he told me was priceless. Here we were thinking it would probably be March or so before he could return to school and God did it in January! It was a long 6 days of waiting for Forester. He was so cute. At 7 in the morning on Thursday he was trying on all of his uniform shirts and pants to see which still fit. And, he and Mrs. Weston worked very hard, doubling up on lessons to get Forester caught up with the rest of his 2nd grade class.
So, after 329 days, Forester returned to school yesterday! Right now he is only attending until noon each day until he can build up his stamina for a full day. He was all smiles and enjoyed every minute of being back with his friends and in the classroom learning. His only complaint was that he had to leave mid-day. He truly was sad yesterday and a little bit today. I know he longs to be "normal" like everyone else. It will take some time to get there and we are so thankful for how far we've come!
Please pray for all of us during this time of transition. We are so thankful that Forester is in a small private Christian school full of staff, parents and kids who love him. We are thankful that he is one of 8 children in his class where he will receive amazing personal attention in learning and development. We are also thankful that because of a smaller school environment it is less of a risk to his health as far as sickness goes. Pray for Forester's teacher, Mrs. Walters, and also his classmates!
Another specific prayer request is healing for Forester's legs. As you know the chemo, Vincristine, has wreaked havoc on Forester's balance and legs. To see Forester for a few moments you may not notice but as Forester's classmates and Mrs. Walters may now tell you, his legs are more severe than one would think. I'm not trying to paint a dramatic picture here I'm just trying to express how things truly are. Forester cannot run - it looks more like a limping gallop. He cannot walk in a straight line. He cannot take the stairs one foot at a time but instead 2 feet at a time like a toddler would. He cannot balance on one leg long enough to get to the next step. When he walks his feet tend to "slap" and he walks wide legged and in a zig-zag pattern. He falls easily. We have been told that in most cases these issues are temporary. We have yet to see any improvement. We will soon begin physical therapy again for Forester and pray that it helps. Will you please pray for restoration to Forester's muscles and nerves in his legs and feet? Pray that these side effects are temporary and not permanent. Pray that the activity he does at school will be great physical therapy and with each passing day he will improve. This little 8 year old boy longs to run and jump and play sports with his friends again. So, we would also ask that you pray for protection over him. His body does not cooperate with his mind and sometimes he does things he thinks he can do. Especially if his friends are doing it! Normal boy stuff. We believe that God can restore Forester completely! Thank you for praying for him and us.
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