Today's Hero

New addition to our decor

That smile.....

Today, this kid is my hero. On top of severe environmental allergies and eczema, requiring double allergy shots every 3 weeks.....a sinus surgery a year ago......Harper was diagnosed with something called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EOE). EOE is a chronic disorder of the digestive system in which large numbers of a particular type of white blood cells (called eosinophils) are present in the esophagus. For Harper, it results in certain foods getting stuck in his esophagus. As a result, those who know him, know that he's had too many endoscopies to count. For the past couple of years, he's been on a regiment of Omeprazole and Flovent (a steroid inhaler). However, the FDA just approved a medication called Dupixent for children over 12, to treat EOE and eczema. Because this would allow him to transition off of the steroid, this was super welcomed news...until we found out it involved a weekly shot. More shots! Yesterday, we drove 4 hours (2 hours to the doctor's office....and 2 hours back) so that I could learn how to give them each week. And, although, right now he prefers staying on the inhaler (what kid wouldn't?), in typical Harper fashion, he took it like a champ. Just like he does everything!

Harp never "just does" anything.  He goes all in.  At the end of the summer, when he got his schedule for 7th grade, he became so filled with anxiety he literally could not serve communion at church.  He couldn't quit crying because he was so anxious about having PE.  At some point in the summer, we received information from the school that mentioned that students who had PE first semester would not have to "dress out."  I emailed the school counselor and kindly requested Harper have first semester PE.  She quickly emailed me back, letting me know she had made the adjustment.  When I thanked her, she replied "There is so much hatred in this world and so many stresses we all face daily so if I can do just one thing to help someone out, I try my best!"  Working at a middle school, I know the challenges that come with scheduling, so the fact that she accommodated our request so easily, blew me away.  But, then the reality of having PE set in and a whole new wave of anxiety hit.  There are 2 tests they take regularly in PE and Harp is not good at either of them.  This time, there were tears, but instead of "just sucking it up", Harp asked if he could work out with a personal coach, Ms. Rebecca.  Heck yes!  So we made it happen and this kid now does strength training for 45 minutes, twice a week with her.....and runs a mile 3 times a week!  He's had enough of kids making fun of him....he's tired of lying to everyone when they ask "How'd you do on the pacer test?"  He's ready to make changes....and he's inspiring!  

And as if that isn't enough.....in his Creative Writing class, he was given an assignment to create a journal for a World War I soldier.  Rather than just write the journal, he came home and wanted to tea stain and burn paper to make it look authentic.  So....we did!  We had a lot of fun learning together, learning how to tear and crumble and tea stain paper.  Then Chris helped him burn the edges and we even bound it with twine!  No matter the grade, I'm so proud of him for not "just doing" the assignment.  He went all in.  Like he always does!