The hunt is still on for the diagnosis to Amos' ailments as I have explained in detail in previous posts here. Today was not too eventful with the exception of some interruption of his liver functions due to the increased lymph node pressure around his pancreas putting stress on the bile duct and thus inhibiting the liver from doing it's job properly. It gave us some pause, but does not seem to be anything incredibly urgent at this time. He will be receiving some steroids to hopefully reduce the pressure of the lymph nodes impeding upon his pancreas giving some relief to his liver.
^On the brighter side, our little warrior reached 10-months old today. Despite his awful circumstance we tried our best to make it a happy day for him. Every month we take a picture of him with this stuffed puppy his Nonni bought him to mark his growth. We couldn't quite get a smile out of him. However, he did play a little today, and also was willing to take a little bit of formula for us. Not exactly birthday cake, but it was a big deal to us.
^An incredible surprise was to have an old and dear friend to Christine and I show up at our hospital room door all the way from Chicago. Karl Anderson and I fist met on the soccer field our freshman year of high school in Wilmot, Wisconsin. I was by no means a soccer player, but thought I would try out to get stronger for the coming basketball season, and hopefully make some new friends. Although I was five foot nothing and a hundred pounds soaking wet, I made the team because despite my size I did have some speed and athleticism. It also helped that it was the first year of the program and soccer is not exactly a big time sport where we grew up in southeastern Wisconsin. That being said I was stoked when the best player on the field wanted to hang out with me. I was eager to make a new friend as well as hopefully learn to play the game from him. By senior year he had indeed taught me to play to a level that I could consider myself an actual soccer player. I will always remember the day that Karl's dad told me so. Karl and I were varsity captains together, and he was the tightest of friends to Christine and I by then. Over the years since then busy lives and different paths led us toward relatively different lives as I became a ski pro and married to Christine in the town Karl and I first ski bummed in as high school seniors after our partnership in an Etrade stock account made us enough cash to do our first ski bum road trip out west to Ogden, Utah. We also disguised it as a "college visit", which is where I ended up getting a degree in finance following further down our Etrade stock account path. Karl became a Pastor in Illinois and blew our minds when Christine and I attended his wedding to his lovely wife, Andrea, and we first saw him in action in front of a crowd of the devout. Christine and I were touched at his presence at the hospital door. It had been since Christine and I's wedding years ago now since Karl and I had a real conversation in person. I had often recently wondered if we'd ever be able to be as tight as we once were. However, as he showed up in my darkest hour and we sat down to talk about it, all those thoughts quickly faded. We settled in, and it was like senior year all over again. So today when "spiritual services" came by the room to ask if we had any clergy come visit with us it made me so proud to say, "Yes, in fact our Pastor was here the last two days."
^While I am on the subject of good friends supporting Amos, the display of love and support from all of our friends and family has been absolutely overwhelming. I will never be able to thank all of them enough. Pictured above is a friend I made in my freshman year at the university that Karl and I visited on that senior year ski bum road trip to Weber State University. Haley Soto and her two beautiful daughters came by to visit Amos and brought us some good home cooking. Haley has brought us dinner a couple times this week already, and like everyone else I am unsure I will ever really get to display my gratitude properly to her either. My buddy Aaron Hillman also brought us some of our favorite steak sandwiches from Red Rock here in Salt Lake City. He and Haley both even smuggled a little micro brew into the hospital for us against the rules, but I don't think hospital security will be reading this site anyway.
^On a more personal note, I was supposed to be standing next to one of my oldest and best life-long friends from all the way back to elementary school days as he married the love of his life. It breaks my heart not to be there with him and our other dearest life-long friends that are like brothers to me for the celebration. Babak Raymond Yousefian and Catherine Lewis tied the knot today, and although I couldn't be there I was so pleased to be able to watch the wedding streamed live from the hospital room. He knows how much I love him, and I know how much he loves Christine and I and our boy, Amos. It was one of my more difficult conversations to call him and tell him about Amos, and tell him that I would not be able to be in his wedding party as planned. It will remain a great regret of mine, but I will just have to make up for it with a quality boys trip after Amos wins his war.
^Lastly, I want to thank another college friend, Karie Warfield, who thought ahead for Christine and I in setting up a donation site for Amos that is the widget that is now displayed on the top right side of this website. Honestly, the financial consequences of Amos' fight had not even really occurred to me yet. However, I am so thankful that it did to her, and that she took the time to set this up for us. I have never been one to ask for help, especially of financial origin. Just like I mentioned before, and will probably mention a hundred times more, I will never be able to thank her properly either. So in closing this post that had less to do with updates on Amos' diagnosis or treatments, and more to do with trying to make some kind of effort to thank all the wonderful people in our lives that are supporting our little boy, the only thing I can say is thank you, every last one of you. From Facebook posts, to visits, to phone calls, and food deliveries… thank you... thank you so very much.
