GOOD NEWS AT THE DOCTOR

This doctor visit was very rough for Sonel. He actually started crying about it, the day before. He knew we were going somewhere today and remembered it was time for a doctor visit. He cried a lot today...in preparation for the visit. I thought maybe if I unwrapped his feet, instead of the doctor, he wouldn't cry so much...not so. He bawled a lot. When the doctor came in, Sonel squalled so loud, Hope asked if she could go back out in the waiting room. When the doctor unwrapped the final gauze, I could see why he was dreading anyone touching his feet. When the final piece of bandage came off, pus poured out of his right heel. The steel rod had worked it's way upward under his skin and caused it to get infected. The same with the other foot, but it wasn't infected. Since the rods were loose, they were not doing their job, so the doctor pulled them both out. It wasn't painful for Sonel, but he was pretty terrified just by seeing it. The rods looked to be about 6-7 inches long! The "good news" is that next Tuesday Sonel will be put to sleep and the other rods will be removed, along with his sutures. THEN Sonel will be able to take a bath and get in a swimming pool!!! He will love that! He still won't be able to walk for 3 more weeks (which is 6 weeks sooner than the original plan). He will wear walking boots after the rod removals. I'm so excited to watch the progress in Sonel's recovery. Everyday is always better than the last. God is so GOOD!

Monday and Tuesday's gifts from the Sunshine Box

Sonel is getting spoiled rotten, if he's not already there. I make sure he sees that the gifts are getting less each day. I don't want him thinking that he automatically gets a gift every morning. But, he is loving it!

Sunday and Monday's gifts

He has been one happy camper!

Oops!

I forgot to show you his second gift and his Haiti picture.

VISITORS

This past Saturday, we had a visit from two lovely ladies, Pat and Pam, and Pats two grand daughters, Carrigan and Destiny. They came to see Sonel. Pat and Pam were at the Rescue Center where Sonel was, in Haiti, this past January and loved Sonel. When they found out he was close to them, they decided to come for a visit. They brought a "Sunshine Box" with them. It was a box filled with gifts, for Sonel, from people from their church. The object is to open one gift a day. Well, we cheated right off the bat. He opened two the first day! After I hid them in my bedroom and he wasn't looking at them, he was OK. The next morning, he pointed to my room and asked for a toy (smart boy!). I'm going to post his gifts each day. Thank you everyone from Hickory Grove Church, in Delphi, IN, for making Sonel a little more "spoiled" ! It's so fun to do. The last picture is Sonel holding a picture of himself that was taken by the Hickory Grove team, while in Haiti. Sonel has been doing so good. He has leg aches, at the top of his legs, but the only complaint about his feet is that they itch!

Lookin' good!

Here is Sonel with his new "BLUE SHOES". He wont' be near as hot with his feet wrapped like this. Before Sonel's feet were wrapped back up, I washed his legs and put lotion on them. He loved it. He still cried when he seen the doctor. He cries a lot when he first sees his feet. They are kind of scary looking. On the way back home, Sonel started saying "sins swy", over and over. I asked Hope if she had any idea what he was trying to say and she said he wants "french fries"! We're working on pronouncing that a little better. He also calls a cheeseburger a "shees bagay". Bagay is a Creole word meaning "thing". He has been so much fun. He is no longer on any Morphine, PRAISE GOD for that. He was like a little zombie and never wanted to eat, while taking it.

Our next doctor visit should be a good one. Dr. DeHeer's kids and his girlfriend's kids are wanting to meet Sonel, so they are going to try to be at his next appt. Dr. DeHeer has such a good heart. He was going to go to China and perform surgery on the earthquake victims, but the Chinese government said "NO". I pray that God will bless his life for all he is doing for others.

BEST DAY YET

Today was fantastic. Sonel was in such a good mood...all day...with NO morphine. He and Hope squirted each other most of the day with squirt guns. We even put garbage bags on his legs to keep them dry. We went to church this morning. He loves when I ask him if he wants to go to "legliz"(church), I always get a big "WI" ("yes"). I know he has a lot of memories of singing songs to Jesus from the Rescue Center. He has sang songs ever since he's gotten here. (Licia and Lori...he'll sing about going outside, it's so cute, he always adds a lot of "yo,yo, yo's" to the end. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.) He also laughed so much today. It was good to hear that again.
Brenda