Wink from Heaven: Volleyball boy

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Volleyball boy

In the Winter we don't take Caleb away from home very often. We really try to not to expose him to sicknesses that Winter brings. However, when the #5 BYU volleyball team was playing #3 Stanford , we just couldn't help ourselves. We just really wanted to go as a whole family. We were able to sit right behind the team so his stroller would fit, and we had a great time! I loved being ALL together. I loved not having the tug in my heart to hurry home. And I loved watching Caleb's brother hold his hand when it got a little loud.
BYU basketball plays against UTAH this weekend. I think we just might have to try this again one more time...

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: So glad you were able to go out and enjoy yourselves as a family.; January 28, 2010 at 3:36 PM
Lacey said...: Oh I've seen Caleb before! You might be a great person to talk to then! We are trying to adopt this baby girl from the foster system. They say she will not survive, although this is DCSF saying this, and they have no medical background. But she supposidly only has a small portion of her brain. She was a 24 week preemie. They won't tell me anything about her anymore until they get my home study, but she eats by mouth, tracks people with her eyes, reaches for toys. All things most babies without much brain tissue do. They also said her fontanel has closed, but I know that can be surgically fixed. What kinds of things does Caleb do?; January 28, 2010 at 3:50 PM
Candace said...: FUN, April! Looks like a blast. I love volleyball, played my seventh grade year. Glad you got out as a family!; January 28, 2010 at 4:38 PM
Lisa Christine said...: I'm sure he loved all the excitement! What a fun family outing :); January 28, 2010 at 5:13 PM
Becky said...: I LOVE this post. LOVE that you were a family...even if it IS winter. I'm so glad you did this and I hope you do it again soon. xoxo; January 28, 2010 at 8:18 PM
Barb said...: I like Caleb's BYU gear! Go Cougars! Love your blog about Caleb and love the "wink from Heaven" motif.; January 28, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Tara Bennett said...: I'm so glad you were able to be all together for such a fun event! You've definitely got to go to the rivalry game if you can!!! Plus check out his cute blanket ;O); January 29, 2010 at 8:06 PM
Jenn said...: So much fun! That's awesome that you guys got to go together as a family. I think a lot of us take that forgranted, thank you for the reminder!; February 4, 2010 at 2:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi My name is Melissa. I have just come across your blog. We have a beautiful 17 month old girl, Ellie. Ellie has a rare genetic condition called wolf hirschhorn syndrome. Ellie was also only born with one eye, she recently got a glass eye. Look forward to following your story, feel free to check out ellie story at my blog.

Take care, Mel; February 7, 2010 at 1:34 AM

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.