The Final MILESTONE!!!!! Return to School..OUR THOUGHTS ON LIFE

Hi Everyone,
It has been a while since we last blogged. That is good news. Sam has just today, returned to school (Tues. Dec. 2nd, 2008). He was sooooo excited to return to school, he even was up before 5am. One would think, knowing Sam, that the excitement was more so for the social venue than the academics. But we think he truely is also excited to get back to a familiar routine, his mental signal that all is "WELL" once again. He reluctantly completed his NOVA Net courses, (I guess multiple choice gets old), got another hair cut........!!!!!! and some new clothes that fit his still ultra skinny (woops, swvelt) body. He has managed to gain 6lbs. and now weighs in at 111 lbs. He has been advised to use the hand sanitizer every couple of hours while in school, as the doctor does not want Sam getting sick again, not even a cold. This may present a challenge with flu season in full tilt. He still has a couple outstanding health tests to complete, which they need to give him the OK on. A more recent development has been that he is losing his hair....this is apparently common when ones body has been through extreme truama. He goes back to get another xray on Jan. 19th....we will start getting closer to the final image of Sam's damaged lung. By end of March the doctor thinks the lung will be where it will remain to be for life (more or less). In the mean time, Sam can play basketball, bike, and do all that stuff as well as he can without any problems. He needs to listen to his body and stop when he is winded or tired. Of course Sam wants to start to have sleep overs every weekend and to begin the process of burning the candle at both ends.....but the doctor and Mom and Dad don't think Sam is quite ready for that. We have told him he can have a sleep over party at our place on his birthday (Dec. 31st). Whether he has a sleep over away from home before that remains questionable.

Now, the burning question most you parents may have, after we as a family have been through this traumatic experience, what has this done for our family dynamics, the depth, the mental attitude towards life, the MEANING of LIFE???? Well, it's the old folks that have significantly changed. Of course the obvious, count your blessings daily, take nothing for granted....it has brought the family closer together etc. But what has really changed is the old folks attitude towards Sam, as our son and a teen. You know, the teen years are tough, and all parents have an expectation as their kids mature into young adults. Well, we have dropped much of that mentality. We now have little in terms of expectations, we spoil Sam more than before, (sorry you guys out there with teens). We just want to love our kid and try and try to live in harmony for the few years that Sam remains living in our house. Pretty simple conclusion....seems like a no brainer, but to all of you that have not gone through this, take it from us, it makes sense.
So....just think about it for a while.
Next up date .....after January 19th..next xray.