Braces, but not for his teeth!

Last week, Lisa, Liam, and his physical therapist went to talk with the folks that made Liam's helmet about the difficulty Liam is having learning to walk. His foot placement is wrong with both feet, but especially with his right foot. It looks like he will need an ankle-high brace on his left foot and a mid-calf-high brace on his right foot to correct the placement of his feet as he walks. We are hopeful this will finally help him walk. He has a nifty little reverse walker that his physical therapist loaned us, and he LOVES the mobility it brings. However, as he started cruising around furniture and began using his reverse walker, we quickly realized he needs the braces to correct his foot placement.

So, the wheels are beginning to turn on the insurance approval. We again ask for everyone's prayers. We hope this process moves quickly, because we are anxious to see Liam take his first steps without needing to hang on to something! These will be custom-made braces, so they will be expensive and will take a while to be made.

Prayer Requests:

1. Thanksgiving that Liam is enjoying good health this summer!
2. That the insurance company will allow us to use our local prosthetic company the way we did with his helmet, because is sure is nice not to have to trot back and forth to Vandy constantly when an excellent local treatment provider is available.
3. That insurance will pay 100% of the cost of these braces.
4. That the approval process and construction of the braces goes quickly.

In Christ,
Bill and Lisa

Prayers for Baby Madison

Liam is doing fantastic, which is why we never post any more! Our two biggest issues right now are his lack of speech (though he is picking up sign language pretty well) and the fact that he can't walk. He has a new reverse walker that he loves being in and we're looking into getting orthotics or braces on his legs to help him place his feet correctly.

Friends of ours are going to have Baby Madison on June 8 at Vandy. We'd appreciate your prayers for them, as Madison has spina bifida. Madison's parents are a wonderful Christian couple and we know they will be ok despite all the stress--we just wish they could experience Madison's birth without all the medical complications and the associated challenges.

In Christ,
Bill and Lisa

Liam's (hopefully) last surgery is behind us!

Whew! It's been a long 2 1/2 years! We are happy to report that Liam no longer has a hole in his tummy! His surgery today went very well. It lasted about 45 minutes start to finish and he is recovering nicely. Thank you to all of you who kept him in your prayers! We hope his recovery is fast and pain-free. We had a bump in the road this afternoon when he refused pain meds and all liquids by mouth, but Mama and his babysitter seem to have resolved that issue by jointly tackling it. He is now resting comfortably and snuggling with Winnie-the-Pooh on the couch. Codeine is great stuff!

In Christ,
Bill and Lisa