Renée has likened our experience over the past month to that of a roller coaster ride: up one day and down another. This past Thursday and Friday have held one of those humps.

Thursday morning started with an ultrasound of Noah’s head to check for any abnormalities, just as a precaution, since he has yet to master the coordination between breathing, sucking, and swallowing, making it very difficult for him to eat. Thankfully, the ultrasound came back completely normal, showing no abnormalities. We as his parents were able to breathe a sigh of relief… for a moment.

Early Thursday afternoon, Renée received a call from the hospital asking for both her and I to be available for a consultation. Renée wanted to know what the need was, and the nurse explained that she and several other nurses had reason to think that Noah showed signs of Down’s, cerebral palsy, or other disorder, and that one (or more) of these was to explain his slowness in learning to eat. They wanted to have a geneticist come by to examine Noah and run some tests to make sure everything was okay.

Of course, this sent Renée and I into hysterics. Despite the nurses trying to console us by noting that the tests were only precautionary, every single possibility ran through our head of what could be wrong. It’s difficult when the suggestion is made to simply discount it and put it out of our heads.

Needless to say, we didn’t sleep exceptionally Thursday night. Since we’re still slightly sick with colds, Renée’s mom and my dad went to the hospital when the geneticist came by Friday afternoon to examine Noah.

An older gentleman, the geneticist is very well-respected in his field and is nationally-renowned. After his 40-minute examination of Noah, he turned to talk to my father and mother-in-law. He explained that from his examination of Noah, there were over 350 diagnoses that he could completely rule out. He concluded that everything about Noah was completely normal and there was nothing noteworthy at all to even warrant further testing. He mentioned that his jaw was perhaps slightly underdeveloped and that his tongue was slightly large, but anyone who knows me and Renée know that those traits are inherited (bless his heart, poor kid). Those two things may be reason enough for his difficulties in eating, but just require time and more practice to get better.

What an answer to prayer! All of my family felt as though a gigantic burden had been lifted from our shoulders. We are so thankful that God is continuing to protect our little boy and grow him up. He IS drawing us to our knees to show us that He is in control.

Frankly, this is really, really hard. Every single day is a struggle. But like I mentioned before, God is carrying us through everything.

On another note, since Renée turns 30 on Saturday (happy birthday, sweetheart), I thought it would only be fitting to surprise her with something she’d never expect. Thursday night, her best friend Tiffany flew in from Houston and walked through the front door to surprise Renée with a much needed hug and much-needed company; she’s here with us until Sunday. Actually planned since early December, her visit comes at an opportune time to help us with everything.

Please everyone continue to appeal to our Father for His help in our time of need. We continue to appreciate all the support we’ve received from family and friends!