Ramirez Family

Hannah and I had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure to meet the Ramirez family this weekend. They have two amazing kiddos - Sophia just turned 7, and Eli is 2 1/2. Eli has some of the same issues Hannah has, plus a few more. He is facing leg amputation surgery in the future, and Hannah and I went so they could see what they have to look forward to with Eli.

Sophia met us in the driveway. After just a couple of minutes, the girls were fast friends and scrambled up the stairs to the play room. Seeing Hannah scamper up the stairs brought tears to Melissa's eyes. It was soon obvious to them, that having no legs wasn't slowing our little dynamo down.

Soon Eli was finished with his lunch and was down and on the move to see what the girls were doing. Watching him scoot around brought back memories of the way Hannah maneuvered before she was actually walking. It may take him a little longer to get where he wants to go, but he gets the job done. It was quickly obvious to me that even though Eli has a very limited vocabulary, he can get his point across. This little guy has soooo much personality.

The girls were upstairs coloring and playing in the "tent" Sophia's dad, David, had made for them. Eli had to get in on the fun too. He LOVED scooting under the tent going after the girls.

We took all of Hannah's legs so they could see what Eli's legs would most likely look like. I tried to share the pros/cons of the different legs. Our main goal was to help them feel better about the decision they were making for Eli. I personally know how big a decision it is to make such a seemingly drastic decision for your child. We know now that the choice for surgery was most assuredly the best choice we could have made for Hannah.

Please keep this family in your prayers. Eli is facing thumb surgery - making one of his four fingers a thumb - on August 12. Eli has a history of having complications with each surgery, so please pray with me that this surgery will be the easiest one yet. Also, please keep dad - David - in your prayers as well. He is dealing with a slipped disc in his back, and this is causing him a lot of pain.

You can go read more about Eli's story here: http://prayforeli.blogspot.com/