Wink from Heaven: July 2009

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Caleb's wheels!

For Caleb's birthday in January we were surprised with an incredibly generous gift from anonymous family and friends.... we used it to purchase Caleb a new stroller made especially for kids like him! It arrived in the mail on Monday and I love it! If you'd like to read about all of the snazzy features click here!It is PERFECT for Caleb AND I can actually lift it, AND it actually folds to a manageable size, AND it even fits in the car! I am so excited! Thank you to our dear family and friends....we are truly thankful, incredibly humbled and completely tickled!

We decided to break in Caleb's new ride at Bridal Veil Falls

My sweet little buddy

Caleb and I walked up the path while the other boys hiked on the mountain side...

Caleb loves his snazzy new stroller!

We loved the Heavenly surroundings of the mountains, and we loved being able to take our Wink from Heaven with us!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

My home run boy...

Caleb came with us to watch a base ball game for Family Home Evening!
He sat through a few innings in his stroller,

But he wanted to get out so he could see all the action!

We love our home run boy!

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sickly

For the past 18 months Caleb has battled one illness after another. A few days ago I was rocking him, and I was praying about how I could help him be more comfortable. I started to wonder if I just needed to accept that Caleb is sickly child. I wondered if I was just in denial every time I hope for the current illness to be the last one for a while. But as I thought about it, I realized I'm not in denial. I will never see Caleb as a sickly child because I know him, and he is anything but sickly. Caleb doesn't let his physical limitations impede his ability to be true to his mission on the earth. I will always continue to hope for better health, but I know that Caleb isn't broken, sickly or compromised. He is Caleb.

Dear Caleb,
Thank you for allowing me to take care of your sweet little body. Thank you for touching me with your light, even when you don't feel well. I hope that when my body doesn't always cooperate with me, that my spirit will continue to shine the way that yours does. Thank you for showing me who you are.
Love,
Mom

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The great blow-out disaster!

(This one's for you, uncle Jacob) and any of the rest of you that don't mind a good p**p story!

As previously noted, Caleb was diagnosed with a bladder infection and so we immediately put him on an antibiotic. When we start Caleb on antibiotics, we also have to be prepared for some turbo powered diarrhea! Being the planner that I am, I tried to help Caleb have a bowel movement 2 hours before our trip to Primary Children's hospital, but had no results...nothing...nada...ZIP. So, when the time came we got every one packed in the car and headed to Salt Lake. After a few minutes we passed a couple of dead raccoons on the road. "Boy those Raccoons really stink" I said. Then after thinking about it, Dallan and I looked at each other and said "Or what if it's Caleb..." We stopped at our pharmacy's drive up window to grab some of Caleb's medications, and decided to do a quick check on Caleb. Dallan reached into his car seat and when he inched Caleb up to check down yonder, he found his hands in huge puddle! He picked Caleb up under his armpits to bring him to the back of the van for changing, and I was immediately hysterical! "DRIPPING! DRIPPING!" I shriek with laughter....(Dealing with bodily fluids isn't Dallan's favorite past time) Dallan runs to the back of the van while Caleb is dripping in huge amounts from both legs. I followed the trail of poopy puddles on the pavement and prepared to change him. Our entire cargo area looked like an atomic poop bomb went off. We used an entire package of wipes to clean Caleb the best we could, put a couple of burp cloths in his car seat so he could get back in, and gave a friendly wave to the woman waiting behind us to get her prescriptions from the window...
I called the hospital to explain why were were going to be late because there was no way they wanted to meet Caleb in that condition...don't worry, the receptionist couldn't stop laughing either.
Anyone want to detail my car for me? Please....pretty please...?

Dear Caleb,
Thank you for being patient with us today!
I love you
mom

Doctor, Doctor...

Monday: A trip to Northwest orthotics so Caleb's legs and ankles could be casted for ankle/leg braces. Hopefully these braces will improve his range of motion in his ankles.

Tuesday: A trip to the pediatrician because I thought Caleb had a bladder infection. I was able to get my own sample so they wouldn't have to use a catheter, and sure enough, he does have an infection. Hopefully now that we have antibiotics, he'll finally start to feel better!

Tuesday: A trip to the hospital to have blood work done! At one point the needle slipped out and blood squirted everywhere. One of my boys thought it was "SO COOL" and the other just about fainted!

Wednesday: A trip to Primary Children's Hospital to have an emptying study. They put barium into Caleb's tummy and put him in an xray type machine. The machine took pictures every 30 seconds for an hour to see how Caleb's tummy is emptying.

Freedom and Family

Caleb had a great 4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He didn't even get scared of the fireworks! Being on Daddy's lap makes him feel very brave! Freedom and Family...two great reasons to celebrate!

Let Freedom ring!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

EYE Spy!

Matthew made a great I Spy page for an art project that included lots of googly eyes. The eyes were mysteriously missing the next day. When he asked Mitchell if he took them off, Mitchell replied, "they were for Caleb."

Dallan couldn't resist...

Heaven sent...
We were blessed with a little boy who always winked!
Caleb's brain did not form, and doctors didn't expect him to live for more than a few weeks. After 8 days in the NICU doctors sent us home saying there was nothing more they could do. Among his various physical challenges, Caleb was missing one of his eyes. Even though he was never be able to say "I love you" with words, he told us every day with his "wink!" His little wink was a daily message of love from heaven.

Caleb’s spirit radiated pure love. He brought the love of God and light of Christ into the lives of all who knew him. Caleb’s life was a precious gift and a tender miracle. His winking eye was a daily reminder of Caleb’s deep love for all of us. Caleb could have quickly returned to heaven but instead he brought heaven to us for seven years.

Caleb was a precious gift to our family, and now it is our priveledge to live in such a way that we will be reunited with him forever.

Prayer for Caleb

(written by Caleb's Grandma in her weekly column -2008-)

In my family we have a secret code to communicate our love for each other when we are out in public. We wink. When one of us is about to perform or speak, we look for a family member’s face in the crowd. Then we wink at each other. Closing one eye and winking is our secret code for saying, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

About three years ago, my grandson Caleb was born into our family. He must have known before birth that he would never be able to speak to us because he was born with one eyelid permanently closed. So, he is always “winking” at us, always communicating, “I love you. You can do it. You’re wonderful.”

Caleb has one eye lid permanently closed because he is missing one of his eyes . . . and he is also missing his brain. All the doctors said he would die soon after birth. They were wrong. Caleb is three years old. He is a medical miracle. The doctors say he can’t see, hear, speak, think or move. Those who know and love Caleb understand he has his own unique way of experiencing the world and communicating his love to those around him.

After Caleb was born the hospice people told us to buy a burial plot and continually warned us of his imminent death. We soon learned you can not live well in a state of fear and sadness. We decided we could spend Caleb’s entire life anxious and scared he might die at any moment, or we could celebrate each day we were blessed to have him with us. In the beginning, my daughter April celebrated Caleb’s birthday every week instead of every year with balloons and cupcakes because we simply did not know how long we would have him with us. We stopped the cupcakes after we gained ten pounds, but the celebrating goes on.

We all prayed for a miracle when we first learned about Caleb’s condition. We got one. Caleb’s birth, life and mission have had a deep and lasting impact on our lives. His spirit, eternal identity and most of all the loving, individual relationship he has with each of us is truly a miracle. Because of Caleb we know that each of us has a divine purpose and that the physical body is a sacred gift we should never take for granted. We better understand the worth of a soul and the resiliency of the human spirit.

Caleb’s five year old brother Matthew said, “Grandma. The doctors said Caleb was going to die, but he didn’t. That’s the first miracle I ever saw!”

Sometimes Caleb’s baby brother Mitchell pulls out his feeding tube while they hold hands riding together in their double stroller. Sometimes the only intervention that can get Caleb’s heart rate up is when his older brothers Josh and Matty crawl in his crib, hug him and sing, “I am a Child of God.” ...If you have a moment please offer a prayer for the little boy who has never been able to utter a single word and yet has taught everyone who knows and loves him – all the secrets of a rich and meaningful life.