Gerardsmomutah

It takes a quiet day to have enough time to reflect on blessings and Thanksgiving. Today is that day. It’s been a little over a year since my last update about Gerard , his health and our family, and there is much to share.  Please excuse any typos or writing tense errors as I’m trying to rattle this off while I have time. Gerard is ten years old. He will turn 11 on December 24, 2018. He is still a very good-natured, sweet boy and is fighting IBD like a warrior. He makes good grades and would love to be able to do more than is possible on any given day, just like most young boys. Last fall, we moved Gerard to a new school for his mental and physical wellbeing. The school he attended for third grade was fancy and new, a great big building with the latest and greatest technology and close to our home. It was amazing that there were some great Title 1 programs, and his teacher was too fabulous for words. But the bullying on the playground and on campus was unbearable to

Summer 2018 It's been a wonderful year. We've continued to fight the good fight. And Gerard is officially "on the charts." That means the growth charts. What many of you don't know is that DCFS was called as required by my health care team, and they made sure that I wasn't "starving" my poor boy. That was a rough day. And everybody has bad days. Yes, he was in "failure to thrive" again after my last summer's update. Here we are! Back again to let all of the supporters and friends know that their money and prayers have gone to good use. Two years ago I could not have dreamed we would be navigating chronic illness so well. Two years ago Gerard was down to 40 lbs. Yes. It was a lot of dark days when I didn't know who to call because all of the doctors had no answers. No advice. I'd get pitiful looks from friends and strangers. And friends started avoiding us. When we needed them most, a lot of friends exited left. And right.

Update on Gerard's year and health. The good news: Gerard progressed from third grade (all A's) and will be going to fourth grade next fall. This is nothing short of a miracle! He missed ten days of school (instead of 50 like in second grade), and somehow managed to be strong enough to play a role in Ballet West's Nutcracker, affectionately known in the cast as "Spank Boy" for Cast A, which literally brought him back to life in a way I'd never imagined. He loves to dance and perform. Trips to Salt Lake to rehearse did wonders for his self-confidence and as tiny as he was. He matured leaps and bounds by being around professional dancers and other boy ballet dancers. He's become a voracious reader, and though he still enjoys math and science, he's more inclined in the arts at this time. He still enjoys kicking the soccer ball around, and also has recently learned to ride his bike after having to put that on hold for two years. If you zoom in on his

Happy Birthday Gerard! This is for you. All of you who helped Gerard (and his parents) make to another milestone. Gerard turns 9 years old tomorrow, on Christmas Eve. To all the followers of Gerard and his health, supporters of our family and to the GoFundMe account last summer that sent G to the Mayo Clinic in June, a very big thank you for your support. Our friends helped us to get where we are today. You did it! See? You helped us! You helped Gerard get the care he needed! Yes, Gerard is wearing the same sweater he wore last Christmas, and that's just fine! He's here. We're all here, and we're all grateful. There's more to update but I'm short on time. He's still in chemo...and there's no end in sight. He's in a new school that he likes a lot. He has only been absent for illness a few days. He's been well enough to perform in Ballet West's Nutcracker as a Party Boy (Spank Boy role), which he absolutely loved and will be a lifelong