Birthday Celebration!

Hello everyone!! Thank you to all of you who helped make Dylan's birthday celebration SPECIAL!! We really enjoyed being able to see everyone! Dylan was a little less than happy that day...he was a little cranky....but we still had a lot of fun! As you can see in one of the pics, he fell asleep for most of the party :) He also cried, a lot, when we sang Happy Birthday :( Maybe he will enjoy his 2ND birthday a little more! Nonetheless, a good time was had by all and we were blessed by everyone who joined us for the celebration!! Dylan was also blessed with enough presents to last him for AT LEAST the next year!! I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of gifts--THANK YOU!! You guys definitely spoiled him :) If anyone has any pictures from the day, please email them to me, I would love to have them!

We love you!! Have a great weekend!

Love, The Praskins

Day +116....never a dull moment around here

Hello!! Well, we saw a specialist on Monday and he verified that Dylan definitely had glaucoma. The only problem was that he could not check the pressure in D's eyes because he is a wiggle worm :) So we scheduled an appointment to get the pressure tested under anesthesia. That brings us to today. I DREAD anesthesia days. They are not fun, especially for Dylan. But, he was a trooper as always, and did VERY well with not eating for 6 hours. He really does make me so proud :) After checking the pressure in Dylan's eye, along with examining it, the doctor found some major concerns. Dylan's glaucoma is bad. He said that his right optic nerve is severely damaged. He told us that it like his eyeball is a computer and his optic nerve is the computer cord. He can have a perfectly functioning computer, but if the power cord is damaged or broken, then the computer cannot function properly. Dylan's "cord" is not doing so well. His left optic nerve is also damaged, but just not as badly. We now have D on two sets of drops. These drops minimize the pressure that is in his eye and will hopefully bring it down below normal levels so we can avoid surgery. There is no way to tell how his damaged nerves are going to affect his eye sight just yet. Only time will tell. The doc said that we will not know the extent of damage until Dylan is 3 or 4 years old. Most of the time, the most damage is done to the eyes peripheral vision. One good thing is that in some cases, the damage can be slightly reversed with treatment. THIS IS OUR PRAYER! Please pray that the drops are sufficient enough to bring down the pressure and that his optic nerves have a chance to re-coop and get strong. In cases where adults get glaucoma, the damage is irreversible....but kids are a whole other story, and for this, we are truly thankful!! We are not going to stress out about things that are beyond our control-I HAVE NO CONTROL!! (I have to repeat this to myself quite often! ha!) We are trusting that the Lord is going to keep D in His arms and will take care of him. On a GREAT note, we also went to Tucson for Dylan's monthly appointment on Wednesday! ALL GOOD NEWS!! All of his levels are great and there are no red flags.............YAY FOR GOOD REPORTS!! They had a little birthday party for him at the clinic and he was able to see his girlfriend Abby!! Abby is doing really well now too! She went through 10 sessions of radiation and it killed all of the intruding cancer cells! Now she is under strict watch to make sure they do not try to come back and make a home in her cute little body. She LOVES Dylan! It is quite hilarious!! She will do anything to touch him, grab him, or squeeze him! I love seeing those two together! LIFE is such a blessing, and when I see Dylan and Abby together, it is just an amazing picture of what God can do! AMAZING! Two little ones who, statistically, were not expected to be here today.........God is AWESOME!
Tomorrow, our little guy is going to be 1!! Is that even possible? Although there were days this year that seemed like they lasted a month....this year has really flown by! To think that one year ago today, I was on my way to my 36 week appointment with Erik.....only to find out that we were going to meet our little boy in less than 24 hours........WOW! He is such a blessing and has changed our lives FOREVER!! Thank you for your continued prayers and support. You guys are an amazing support group and we are forever thankful for you for journeying with us! And just when we think everything is going to be smooth sailing....SURPRISE!! The journey is not over yet! I hope everyone has an amazing weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone at Dylan's birthday bash on Sunday!! We love you!

Loving life, no matter what the obstacles,
The Praskins

Day +211....a little bump in the road

Hey guys! These are always the posts that I do not like writing; bad news posts. This past week Dylan's eyes have been 'leaking' almost all day long. This has been something that we were used to, but it seemed to get worse this week. Along with the extra tears, came redness in his eyes. We attributed these symptoms to allergies, because it seemed like everyone's allergies were out of control. Then, yesterday, his left eye seemed to get worse....really red. I put him down for his afternoon nap hoping that it would go away a little bit and tried not to make a big deal of it. When he woke up, it was worse. I called Dr. G and told him about the redness. I only got worried because that is how Abby's leukemia came back. And it started as a redness in her eye. He told me to try to get an emergency appointment, just in case anything was going on, but he did not think that it could be anything bad. I called down to the pediatric opthomologist and told them about D's past with cancer and they promptly got me to see the doc for the last appointment. I really believe that the Lord gives mothers an intuition that only he could give. Before his nap that day, I was not really worried or even too alarmed at his red eye. But then everything changed...and I FREAKED OUT! And I know that was at God's prompting...maybe NOT the freaking out, but the wisdom to get him checked that day!
When we got to the doctor, we had no idea what he was going to find. These days, we never know what is going to happen. The only words we were yearning to hear was....ITS NOT CANCER. After his examination, he had a very concerned look on his face and I held back the tears as much as I could, even though they were already streaming down my face as kissed Dylan's head over and over. Then the words came, "It's NOT the Leukemia!"....PRAISE GOD!!! Well, if it was not the leukemia, then what WAS it? Why was he so concerned? He then began to tell us that he believes that Dylan has Glaucoma, and severe nearsightedness. Glaucoma?? I never even knew kids could get that! Glaucoma is caused from pressure in the eye, causing it to swell. He described Dylan's eye as a tire that has been pumped up to the max. If it goes untreated or is caught too late, then it can cause blindness and also severe nerve damage. We are still unsure if Dylan has had this from birth, or if it is a side effect of the steroids he has been on for 7 months. The steroids can cause the eye to swell, but he has been on very small amounts for the past 2 months, so they do not know if that is causing it. The doctor that saw us was not a glaucoma specialist and he did not have the tools to measure the pressure in his eye, but he was convinced by what he saw and Dylan's symptoms that glaucoma is the diagnosis. We are going to see a specialist this week and will hopefully be able to get some more information on what we need to do to help Dylan. They may have to put him under anesthesia (nothing new to D) in order to get the measurements they need, and get a final diagnosis. At this time, nothing is for certain and we do not know specifics. We hope to get more answers this week. Please pray for us as this is just another setback in our efforts to "live a normal life". We know that the Lord has a plan in everything, and He is leading us and with us, on every step of our journey. Please pray for our family as we take this little detour on our road to recovery. It is hard not to think ahead of what 'could happen' or 'worst case scenarios'. We need to focus on today, knowing that God will take care of tomorrow. Please pray for baby D that he is not in any pain or discomfort. We thank you all for continuing this journey with us and we will update as soon as we find out any new information! We love you guys! Oh, and one more thing.....Dylan is going to be a year old next friday!! CRAZY!! We are so excited to celebrate with everyone!

Walking by faith,
The Praskins

Come and Celebrate with Us! Our little MIRACLE is turning 1!

We are celebrating LIFE, and everyone is invited!

WHEN: Sunday, April 18th

WHERE: Marley Park Heritage Club15120 W Sweetwater AveSurprise AZ 85379

TIME: Open House from 1:30-4:30

We hope to see you there!

Please RSVP to Michelle at mishy1225@aol.com

Dylan....with 'No Strings Attatched'

Clever little title right? I have to give the credit to Mandy, my little sister, she came up with it and I love it! The pictures are a little out of order, but the ones below are from Friday just before getting his line out and after. And the smiley ones are all after we got home! He is such a happy boy! I think in some sense, he knows what he has been through and is happy to be alive! ENJOY!

DAY +185.....6 months of REMISSION!

Hello everyone! Dylan has now been in remission for 6 months and is LEUKEMIA FREE!! We are not out of the woods yet, as they will not consider him cured until 12 months of being in remission, but we are out of the danger zone.
This past Thursday was an emotional day to say the least. This may be a little long, but I want to give you a glimpse into our crazy day. Here it goes--
As I drove down to Tucson late Wednesday night with my mom, we talked through some of our fears and thoughts about the upcoming events. Is the cancer gone? Has he relapsed? What would the bone marrow test tell us? It was one of the hardest nights of sleep I have had in a long time. I had to pray and give the Lord all of my fears, and all of my hopes....however, I knew that whatever the outcome of the following day...that the Lord would still be there.
Dylan and his little girlfriend, Abby, were both getting the same procedures done that day, and going through the same process; a bone marrow aspiration and a spinal tap to check for Leukemia. Dylan's last meal was at 2am. We thought that we would be going in for D's procedure at 7:30am and we did not end up getting called down until 12:30pm......and that was a long and dreadful morning with Dylan not being able to eat. He got his first taste of apple juice that morning because he could have clear liquids until 9:30--and he really enjoyed it! But soon, he wanted the real stuff. We tried every little thing to make him smile. The child life specialist pulled out every toy she had, every noise maker, and light-up gadget. Bubbles helped for about 5 minutes and a blown up surgical glove even kept him entertained. He was definitely a trooper! Finally, they came to get him for his spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration...that is when the nerves set in. More waiting. Oh, how I love the waiting! The procedure went well and we headed back up to clinic to wait for the results. MORE WAITING! Dylan had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia and was quite hungry and tired...so we just cuddled him as much as possible. Then Dr Graham lets us know that he is going down to check the results of the tests.......AND more waiting!! 30 minutes later he walks into the room, and he is not showing any emotion. The spinal fluid was clear and no cancer cells were present. He then explains to us that the samples from the bone marrow show tiny new cells that looked like new growth, but COULD be leukemia cells. I tried as hard as I could not to freak out. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, but I stayed quiet. He said that the pathologist thought they were Leukemia cells and that a senior pathologist would look at the sample within the next couple of hours and that he would call us to let us know what they thought. MORE WAITING. We were just about to leave to go back to our hotel, when the nurse walked in and said that Dr. Graham was on the phone and wanted to talk to me. I told her that I did not want to talk to him-half joking, but mostly in fear of what he COULD tell me. I was shaking when I picked up the phone, knowing that our life could be turned upside down once again. He proceeded to tell me that the senior pathologist looked at the sample and had no question about the origin of the cells--THEY WERE HEALTHY NEW CELLS..........I felt like I could not breathe! I could not even talk because I was crying so much! Praise GOD!!! I hung up the phone and cried out of pure joy hugging my mom and Dylan. We left the hospital rejoicing with our wonderful news and talked about all of the miracles that God has done in Dylan's life. Later that night, Jennifer, Abby's mom, got a call too. Her news was not good. Abby's leukemia was back. She called me that night crying and I cried with her. It was heartbreaking. It was a day of rejoicing and exciting news with Dylan, but a night of sadness knowing that my dear friend and her precious daughter were entering a world of the unknown. Stupid cancer. I hate cancer. It was hard not to feel guilty about Dylan being healthy. And not really guilty, but sad to be excited when they were hurting. I think I hugged Dylan harder and longer than I ever had that night. I cried as I prayed, thanking God for healing our baby, and begging for Him to heal Abby and to carry the family through this next stage in their journey.
Please pray for Abby and her family. Jennifer and her husband John are stressed, afraid of the unknown, and they are weary. Please pray that the Lord gives them the strength to get through each day and that they feel His presence and His loving arms around them. Thank you so much for your diligent prayers for Dylan. Words cannot express how thankful we are for your support. Please continue to pray that his body heals completely. We had his last line taken out on Friday and he is now a 'normal' little boy. He is still on steroids and another med to help his tummy, but we are hoping to decrease these throughout the month. Pray for us to be confident and trust the Lord with Dylan in every little detail. The fear of the Leukemia coming back is always lingering. A fear that is NOT from God. We are now going to Tucson for check ups only once a month! YAY! Isn't that exciting? I am glad that we can still get to visit with our Tucson friends and for Dylan and Abby to see other. Abby loves Dylan. She always tries to grab his chubby cheeks and always wants to kiss him! But Dr. G always says, "no licking, no touching, no kissing!" HA! I love the way babies react to one another!
In other news--I am going to be sending out an E-VITE for Dylan's party and also will post all of the info on the blog. If you would like an E-VITE, please email me so I have your email address and I will be sure to get one to you! :) Send emails to mishy1225@aol.com. As a reminder, the party will be on Sunday, April 18th from 1:30-4:30, open house style--so you are welcome to stop by or stay as long as you want! We would love to see all of the people who have supported us and Dylan would love to see you too!! I am hoping to keep him awake the whole time! HA!
Thank you again for EVERYTHING! You guys are AMAZING!

Loving life and cherishing every moment,
The Praskins

More Bone Marrow Testing Today!

Baby D had a bone marrow test today in Tucson before he gets his broviac out tomorrow. The original result was that the pathologist was not clear if some of the cells were 'new healthy cells' or the beginning of leaukemia cells. After a long stressful wait, a senior pathologist reviewed the results and confirmed that the cells were 'healthy baby cells.' Yeah! What a relief! We are so excited and thankful to God that Dylan is continuing his great progress! Thank you for your prayers. Your support and encouragement has been so uplifting. We are looking forward to Dylan's broviac being removed tomorrow so he won't yank it out! We will update more as we hear!
Love
Erik, Michelle, & Baby D

Day +171.....So Thankful for our Dylan

Hello Everyone!! Sorry that I have not updated in a while.....but as I always say....no news is GREAT news! Things have been abnormally normal around here....sounds kind of strange....but we are pretty much starting from scratch of what normal should be. It's nice. It's a great thing not being in the hospital. It's a great being in our home. Sleeping in the same house all together. Cleaning. Grocery Shopping. Laundry. Normal....I LOVE IT!!

But as we are back to normal, many of our friends in the BMT world are not. As you all know, we have made a lot of friends along our journey, and some of them are having happy endings, some have had bad, and some....are still struggling to make it. I would love for you guys all to pray for Bekah....she is 5. She has a different diagnosis than Dylan, but underwent a BMT about a month after Dylan. She and her family have had a tough weekend to say the least. There were many times where she could have lost her life this weekend, but God has really protected her. She is now on life support in the PICU, and is fighting for her life. I have gotten to know her mom, Sharla, pretty well, and she is an AMAZING warrior for her daughter. PLEASE pray for this family. They are frightened by what COULD happen, but also have FAITH in the Lord and believe that He can bring Bekah to full recovery. Please pray along with us for this sweet girl. Here is her caringbridge site if you would like to follow along with us:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayersforbekah

Thank you in advance for your prayers!!

Ok, so it's kind of hard to transition out of that, but I am going to try. I was texting back and forth with Bekah's mom this weekend, and while they are going through this devastatingly emotional time, she asked about D, and how he was doing. She is always so excited to see him doing so well, even when her world is falling apart. That is just the kind of person she is.....amazing!

Soooooooo.......Mr. Dylan is doing better than I could have ever hoped. He is perfect. And I know that every parent thinks that their kids are amazing.....but seriously, I don't know if my heart can take any more love for this child. Every morning, (as long as it is after 6am), I get soooooo excited to walk in his room to see that huge smile of his. I usually stand by the door for a minute or two and just watch him. Then, the second I say "Dylan", he starts bouncing around and looking every which way to find me........melts my heart every time!! God is so good. I am reminded of the miracle that God has given us every time I look at him. You guys must think I am crazy, and that I must cry all the time....and I DO....not ashamed of it. It's all still a little hard to believe sometimes. When I look back at the horrible pictures of that day, it brings back that sinking feeling in my gut....and in a way, I don't ever want that feeling to go away. I do not want to go back to the person that I used to be. I don't want to take life for granted. Take my loved ones for granted. Dylan is my reminder, and always will be. I do believe that God sometimes gives us trials in our lives to test our faith, and to show us that we are nothing without Him. He needed to break down Erik and I to show us what life was really about. We are thankful for this trial. And even as I type this, I am fearful to say that knowing that I still have no control of the future....but I can, with confidence, say that I know that I can get through anything with Christ by my side.

THE PLAN: The next step going forward is to take out his line and do another bone marrow biopsy. These procedures are scheduled for March 11th and 12th. My mom (THANKS MOM!)is going to join us for the trek down to Tucson and we will stay 2 nights. On Thursday morning, they will do a bone marrow biopsy to double/triple/quadruple check that there are NO signs of the Leukemia cells coming back. Although the doctors believe that there will be NO cancer, they just want to make sure before taking out the line. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray with us, that there are no signs, whatsoever, of any bad cells, and that the biopsy shows perfectly healthy, grafted cells. As long as all goes well on Thursday, and it will :) , Dylan will be put under anesthesia once again (and hopefully the last time), and they will go in and remove his last broviac line...........I cannot even begin to express my excitement for this!! It makes me giddy!! No longer will I have that reminder of the cancer that once permeated his poor little body.....one less thing to worry about!! YAY!! YAY! YAY!! Did I say YAY?! As with any procedures or any time he is put under anesthesia, complications can and do sometimes arise. Please pray that there are NO complications, and that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Please also pray that Dylan does not have any side effects from the anesthesia....he has been put under so many times, I have lost count. That is so sad. It makes my heart heavy. He is not usually a happy camper once he wakes up, and that is to be expected, but please pray that he does not throw up and that he can recover quickly from the procedures. After all is said and done, we should be down to one.....yes, one, visit a MONTH!! WOW!! I have been waiting for this day for a long time! I CANNOT WAIT!!! :)

Thank you to all of you who have continued to walk with us on this journey that we call our life.......your faithfulness, your support, and your prayers have been such an encouragement to us!! You are amazing!! We went to an awards ceremony last week for the "Light the Night" walk that we attended back in November. Our group, Dylan's Dream Team, won the "Most Feet" award! We had 137 walkers!! WOW!! Thank you to all of you who were able to come and support us that night!! I cannot wait until next year when Dylan will be walking with us!! Won't that be amazing? Mark your calendars for November 6th....we are hoping to have as many friends and family join us as possible to support this great cause! (SIDE NOTE: The pic of D with the Diamondbacks Mascot Baxter was from the awards ceremony, and although most kids would cry when they saw Baxter, Dylan was completely opposite! He was loving the huge furry creature and was caressing his face! It was hilarious!! Enjoy the pics!! )

Running the Race that God has set before us,

The Praskins

Day +155....our baby is GROWING!!....and fast!

Hello everyone!! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! Erik and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on the 12th....wow, time flies!! We know that if the Lord can bring us through this past year as a stronger couple, then He can and will, get us through anything!!

Life in the Praskins household is busy.....and so much fun!! We are beyond blessed with Dylan, and each day is a great adventure! Dylan is growing like a weed! He is now almost 16 pounds (huge jump, he has been 15 pounds for what seems like forever!), and is eating twice as much as he was two weeks ago. This may seem like a normal behavior for a 10 month old, but for Dylan, it is a huge step and an answer to prayer! He has been eating only 2 ounces at a time for the past 6 months....he is now eating 4 ounces with each bottle, and sometimes wants to eat an hour later. It's like he is a teenage boy! We have also been trying some baby food the past couple of weeks, and so far, so good! He is growing right before our eyes! He no longer looks like a weak, sickly, little baby, and more like a chubby, vibrant, little boy! PRAISE GOD!! He looks healthier and seems to get happier and more smiley everyday!! (if that is even possible). He is a master at rolling over now, and enjoys hanging out on his blanket, playing with his toys. He is also holding his bottle now!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!! This may be my favorite milestone! HA!! We are continuing to work on his sitting up skills, and hope to master that by the end of the month. This is one of our short term goals. I also won't be surprised if he is crawling within the next month. He is catching up by leaps and bounds, and is one determined little guy. His hair is blond, soft, and beautiful......it's funny how much I love his hair......I guess it just reminds me of the new life that God has blessed him with. When he went through his 3rd round of chemo, he lost all of his hair.....even eyelashes and eyebrows.....and although he was still adorable, it was heartbreaking knowing what the meds were doing to him. But now, the new blood has created new life in his cells and those cells are working magnificently! God could have healed Dylan in a second, but instead, He chose to use modern medicine.....it simply amazes me!

On the medical aspect of things, D is doing as well as he can be. We are now 1 MONTH away from Dylan being in remission for 6 months! This is a huge milestone in his treatment, and we are very excited about his progress. If all continues as planned, we will be dropping half of his meds by mid march and also taking out his last Broviac line! WOW!! I WILL NOT MISS THAT THING!! Dylan loves to yank on it and I will not miss worrying about him pulling it out of his chest. He will also be able to take normal baths and be able to be completely immersed in water....something we have not done in 8 months! I cannot wait to take him in the pool this summer....he is going to LOVE it! After some consideration from the Dr., he has decided not to place a port-a-cath in as a replacement for the Broviac....this means that Dylan will not have ANY foreign thing in his body anymore! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy that makes us. The Doc decided that Dylan does not need any more scars, any more surgeries, or any more hassles.......I love our Dr! After next month, Dylan will only need to get his blood drawn once a month, so they will just have to put in an IV at that time. The Dr said that he is still at the age where he will forgive and forget.......so that is a good thing. It's horrible hearing the little kids screaming and crying before the nurses even get to them with the needle. One of the greatest things that I am thankful for, is Dylan's age. He will not remember ANYTHING, and that in itself, is a HUGE blessing.

We are still waiting to see if Dylan qualified for the state insurance. We had a representative come to the house and ask me a bunch of questions regarding his development, and based on that, he did not qualify. His case is now going through a physician review. We know that if he is not approved, then God will provide another way, but we are still praying for it! I guess it is not a bad thing if he is catching up too fast developmentally....just hard to get approved for services!

We are going to be having a BIG BIRTHDAY BASH for Dylan for his 1st birthday, so mark your calanders!! Normally, we would not go all-out for a 1st birthday party, but this is a one of a kind celebration!! We are going to be having a party on Sunday, April 18th, at our Marley Park community clubhouse in Surprise.......more details to come later! If you can, please plan on stopping by to celebrate Dylan's life with us--we would love to see you!! I think the hardest part of the party will be keeping the birthday boy awake!!

Well, that is all for now, enjoy the pics, and as always, thank you for your amazing support and prayers!!

Living to glorify God in all we do,

The Praskins

Day +142.......living life, and enjoying every minute!!

HAPPY BOY!!

ABOUT PICS: Bath time is his FAVORITE time! He loves, loves, loves to splash around and get as much water out of the sink as he can!! He also loves to stick his feet in his mouth any chance he gets...even in the bathtub! The pirate pic is from a birthday party that we went to of a friend of ours, and he really liked looking at everyone in the silly hats. And my favorite pic is the one of him in his stroller with his "old man" hat on.....sooooo cute!! (Erik thinks he looks like a little Indiana Jones)

Hey guys!! We are doing soooooooo well!! We had a great few days in San Diego! We were able to visit the zoo and also Sea World, and also saw some family and a few friends. Dylan did really well on the drive there and on the way back, we drove at night, and he slept the whole time. He is such a trooper! Although he really did not seem too interested in many things at the zoo or Sea World, he did enjoy seeing all of the seagulls chasing after us, trying to get our food! He thought they were pretty funny! We hope to have a longer trip later, but we were very thankful for this time to get away.

We went to clinic this past Friday and received only good reports! PRAISE GOD!! It's so nice to consistently hear good news. I even talked the doctor into letting us have a whole week off!! We will be going next Monday, and hopefully we might be able to switch to going every other week. That would be AMAZING!! Friday, we also celebrated Abby's 1st birthday in the clinic. I did not get any pics because I was video taping her and Dylan together....but it was so cute!! She was covered in cake and icing, and when we sat Dylan next to her, she kept grabbing his cheeks! They are so much fun to watch when they are together. I love the way babies react when they are around other little ones their age. She is doing really well post-transplant and she is looking more vibrant every week we see her!! God has been so good to us, and its a huge blessing for us to see our good friends doing well too!!

In other news.....we were in the local paper!! A friend from church writes for our city paper and was doing an article on organ donors and blood/marrow donors and she was able to use Dylan's story for the article. We made the front page!! As far as I know, the article was circulated in the Surprise Independent, and also in the Arrowhead area. Just another way that God is using Dylan to reach out to others! AWESOME!! Another thing we are doing is setting up a link on AMAZON.com that will allow Dylan to get 4% of proceeds that come from people shopping on our link. I will try to get it set up this week....so if you are planning on shopping on Amazon.....hold off until we get our link set up!! Every little bit helps!!

We are hoping to get a confirmation this week on whether or not Dylan will get the state insurance.....please keep that issue in your prayers. We will be paying for our first month of COBRA this month....and hopefully it will be the last!!

Last, but not least............DYLAN IS OFFICIALLY ROLLING OVER!!! YAY!!! He has been doing it the past week when he is in his bed, but NEVER when I could see him! But yesterday and today, he has been showing off a lot and gets really excited when he rolls onto his tummy! He is a constant joy in our lives and we are so very excited to wake up with him each and every day!! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support....you are AMAZING!!

With love from our home to yours,

The Praskins

Day +132....what a funny little kid!

Ok, I am probably a tiny bit biased, but isn't he the CUTEST?!! He is full of so much personality!! Must take after his momma! HA!! This was one little photo session where he was proud to show off for the camera! We are doing good here at home and having new adventures everyday! He now has the spitting down pat, and is now working on puckering his lips....it is so funny! I think he like the sound it makes and of course the reaction that he gets from his admirers. I never know if he is going to do a fishy kiss or spit something at me....what fun!! As you can see in the pictures, he is growing A LOT of blond hair, and he is getting some chub on his legs to match his chubby cheeks!! His little arms are now little sausages too! I LOVE IT!! He is finally getting some fat on him that is real fat and not just him being bloated from too many fluids. His cheeks have started to dwindle due to his steroids being cut down, but as of our last Tucson visit on Tuesday, the steroids have been increased to help counteract his throwing up.....and so far it is working!! So I guess we will not be saying farewell to the huge cheeks anytime soon :) He has been doing really well apart from the throwing up. He is happy, playful, and such a good baby!! People always say that if your first baby is a good baby, then your second may be a handful or visa versa. Well....I was having a talk with God and asked if He could classify Dylan in the "handful" category, even though he is REALLY good....so we will see! Ha!! He has not been sleeping as well as before at night, and I think that was due, in part, to his throwing up and dwindled eating. Now that his steroids have been increased, he has been eating more,keeping it down, and sleeping almost through the night! The past two nights he has only woken up once, around 2am, to eat.....opposed to the 8+ times he has been up during the night the past week! I am VERY thankful for that!!

Please pray for me as I am always on edge about every little thing. I got scared a couple of times last week, because a few days he started to act different, he was throwing up a lot, and his stools looked strange.......all of these things freaked me out, and I assumed the worst! When we got to the clinic on Tuesday, I anxiously waited for his blood results.........and they were PERFECT. The Dr and Susan (our nurse) told me to stop worrying and that he was fine.......but I get scared. I am constantly looking for any little thing out of the ordinary that may show signs of my worst nightmare. I have to trust that God is in control and that my worrying will not do anything to help anyone. I need to focus on what is real and true at this moment, and not to focus on what could happen....this is a very difficult thing for me, so I would appreciate any prayers for this issue. There is a commercial on TV, I think it's for an insurance company, and it shows a little boy getting out of his minivan and he is going to soccer practice....his mom has him dressed in head to toe gear for protection.......it's a funny commercial, but that's how I feel with Dylan and I do not want to live in fear like that. Does this ever get any easier? :(

Last week Dylan had an evaluation done by the state to see if he qualified for physical therapy and developmental therapy. According to the specialists who "played" with him, he is more than 50% delayed developmentally and physically. This did not come as a surprise to us. I am not too worried about it, because if they would have evaluated him even a month ago, his delays would have been even more severe. He is catching up on his own time and enjoying feeling good in the meantime. Because of these delays, he qualifies for a program called DDD that will provide therapists once a week whether our insurance pays for it or not. Also, because he is qualified for DDD, this may also qualify him for government insurance. He has to get one more evaluation in the next couple of weeks, and then we will know for sure. But according to what we know so far, he is qualified! Praise GOD!! This is a huge praise and answer to prayer....because insurance is a HUGE expense. Please pray that everything goes well and that he will be able to be covered under the government insurance. That way, Erik and I can get our own insurance and not have to worry about having all of Dylan's expenses covered.

We were hoping to be in San Diego today, but God decided that we needed some rain instead :) So our trip is going to be postponed a few days. We are hoping to leave on Saturday and enjoy at least 2 sunny days in San Diego. It is a long overdue vacation and we are looking forward to just getting away for a short trip! Please pray that the roads are safe on our trip and that we do not run into any crazy weather!!

Loving life and thankful for every minute,

The Praskins Family

Day +121.....life is GREAT!

Hello Everyone!! Life is good!! Erik and I have decided that it is best for Dylan, and our family, that I stay home for the time being--so I will not be returning to work. We are excited that we are able to make this move, but also taking a leap of faith. Our insurance was through my work, and now we will be on COBRA, and the insurance premium is going from $400 to $1500. We are still trying to find other avenues of insurance under our business, but we want to make sure that Dylan is 100% covered during his recovery time. We know that God will provide one way or another....and we feel that it is best for all of us that I stay home and take care of Dylan. I am really excited to have this opportunity and am so very thankful that the Lord has provided for us thus far. We are all settled in at home and are beggining to build a daily schedule. Ahhhh....schedules....I LOVE THEM!! Dylan has been sleeping in his crib for the past 10 days!! And he is doing really well!! He is still only eating 2-3 ounces at a time, so he is not sleeping through the night yet, but that will come with time. The sooner the better....becasue I AM TIRED. He is even taking his naps in his crib now and loves to go to bed....AWESOME little guy!!

We are headed to Tucson tomorrow for our weekly visit. We are hoping to go down to two visits a month soon--that will be nice!! We are also hoping to be done with his IV meds by the end of the month, and at that time, we will take out his other line and they will put in a port. The port will go underneath his skin and will act as an access to draw blood for his labs. Then there will no longer be a "fun" line for him to yank on whenever he is undressed....he LOVES to play with his line! Also, we will be able to fully submerge him in the bathtub, and when the weather gets warmer, the pool! I cannot wait to see how much he will like the pool. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his bathtime, so I'm sure he will love a HUGE pool! So many things for him to experience.....and I cannot wait to try them all!

He is getting an evaluation on Wednesday by a developmental specialist, and also a speech therapist. They are doing the evaluation to see if he qualifies for early intervention therapy programs from the state. He may also qualify for state insurance if they feel that his physical development is delayed as per their standards. This could be the way God provides.......and if not, He will another way. (BUT THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!) So please keep us in your prayers on Wednesday morning. Dylan has been growing more and more each day. He is always showing us something new! His new favorite thing to do is to shake his head back and forth as if he is saying NO. Daddy taught him this one afternoon and now he thinks he is hilarious!! It is quite funny!! The other thing that he discovered is that he can make noises with his spit. YES, he puckers his lips together and blows out anything that is in his mouth....mainly his meds!! But he will also do it when he is just laying down and playing....he really likes the sound! His two teeth that are coming in on the bottom are still making their way through. It seems as though they are close to breaking ground, but they are still hiding underneath his gums. Maybe next week! His hair is growing A LOT!! It is really blonde and very soft!! I love it!! I love to just smell his head....yes, I know I am strange!! He is full of personality and smiles, and every day brings us a new adventure! We are enjoying every minute with him and being home as a family. Thank you so much to everyone who is diligently praying for us every single day, you guys are AWESOME!!

Until next time,

Michelle