To say we are proud of the kind of man our son in growing to be is an understatement. He understands so much at the young age of 14 that I never understood at that age. A good reason for that is because his dad and I never talked to him like a child either. We have always explained things in terms he can understand but the understanding he was getting from us was beyond his years and always has been. We have taken the time and energy it takes to help him be a good, godly, strong young man who has goals and sets goals then goes after those goals. He's so knowledgable to be so young. He asks questions and we do our best to answer his questions to a greater degree than most people would. We see the importance, especially in the day and age we are living in now, of having him very knowledgeable about things so that he will not be a problem on society as he becomes a man but that he can contribute to our society in hopes that it will become a better society if more parents do what we are doing with their children. Things only change if we make an effort with the next generation to make that change a reality. T will definitely be a part of the group that works to make change as much as he possibly can with any influence he may have when he's grown. He constantly amazes me everyday. He is such an incredibly smart young man with a bright future ahead of him.
As I think about this particular National Son's/Daughter's Day I can't help thinking about all that God has brought our boy through over the years. The enemy has sought to snuff out his life twice. Once when he had been exposed to strep throat that made him extremely ill with stomach issues. He never tested positive for strep at all until he actually came down with the strep rash two months after the fact. We went two months with him so sick all the time with diarrhea and throwing up. He was 6 years old at the time (March of 2015). Our Peds doc had us finally take him to the ER because he had gotten to the point he wasn't able to keep anything at all down. It was coming out one way or the other. It was really awful. The ER doc said it's just a stomach virus and go home and continue doing what you are doing. I looked the ER doc square in the face and said my son isn't leaving here until you all figure out what is wrong with him. So they admitted him. The Peds floor doc found his issue quickly and told us that he had a severe bowl obstruction. They then proceed to tell us that had we went home T would have been dead in two days time. They were so thankful that I trusted my gut and had him admitted. Anyhow, they flushed him out with 6 double doses of miralax in 6 8 oz bottles of gatorade. He had to do that or have a feeding tube put in to give him all that. T chose to drink it. After they got him all flushed out the Peds GI on the floor gave us an appointment to be seen at his office and gave us a very strict diet for T. This guy was fantastic. He knew just what had happened with our son and guided us to exactly what we needed to do to get his gut going in the right direction. That started a 5 year long very restricted diet for our son with no sugars, dairy or fried foods. He absolutely hated it but he had to do it to get his gut right. The Peds GI couldn't believe we actually adhered to the diet because most choose to medicate instead. We wanted T off the meds. After getting through all of that he was able to eat normal again. That made him so happy.
The second time the enemy tried to take his life was last summer. He lost all the salt in his body from working out crazy hard getting ready for a tournament. He wasn't putting enough salt back into his body to compensate for what he was losing in his workouts. He went into a throwing up episode like nothing I had ever seen before. We got him all cleaned up and laid him down to rest. Next thing I know I'm hearing him sounding like he's choking. I go in where he was resting and his eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he was seizing. He couldn't understand me at all. The EMS was called and they thought he was dehydrated and they gave him fluids which exasperated the issue. The ER doc found his problem quickly and started pushing massive amounts of salt through his IV. T was very combative every step of the way until he regained consciousness. We had to make sure the docs knew that he was a TaeKwonDo fighter. The docs appreciated being told that because that helped them know how to control him during his combative states. The blessing in it all was that both docs took TaeKwonDo. One was a National Champion in the 90's and the other takes TaeKwonDo classes with a Master that we know very well. These docs did tests and an MRI brain scan to make sure there were no permanent damage and an EEG as well. When T finally came to about 32 hours later talking normal asking us where he was and what happened we could breath a sigh of relief. We had our boy back.
When thinking of these two incidents in his life I am so incredibly thankful for how God has watched over him and saved him. God's hand has been on this boys life like nothing I've ever seen. These are just the two occasions where his life was trying to be snuffed out but there have been other times that weren't as critical times where we could see God's hand on him. We tell him all the time that God's Plan is the Only Plan. It's become the hashtag that I use a lot when making blog posts about him as well. He has learned big time how God's hand has been on his life. It has shaped his thinking very differently because of all he's been through. He has really seen, for himself, how very real God is. He's not just taking his dad and my or a preachers word for it because he's had his own experiences. Most kids his age haven't had experiences such as he has had that have made God so much more real in his life but T really gets it.
Having shared all that you can understand why I say that T is such an amazing and smart young man even beyond his years. This kid has had big time real life experiences that have taught him a ton. We love celebrating him any chance we get because of all that has happened. He is loved so very deeply by his dad and I and the rest of the family. They are always super impressed with him, as are we, when they get to spend time with him and have actual conversations with him. We are looking forward to all that God has in store for his life as he becomes a man and lives his own life. We know deep in the depth of our souls that God has saved him for a purpose. That He has a plan for his life that has a greater purpose than even we can imagine. I pray and hope that we get to see that plan come to pass while still here on this earth. None of us knows the day or hour that we will go to be with the Lord. He and only He knows the number of hairs on our head. He and only He knows our beginning from our end. We trust in God, His Plan is the Only Plan! #GodsPlanistheOnlyPlan
Happy Son's Day T! You are amazingly and wonderfully made by our creator with a plan and purpose for your life! You have been spared for such a time as this. God knew you were going to be our son. He knew everything that was going to happen in your life. He knows all that is going to happen as well. Trust in all that He has for you! Follow His plan and purpose for your life always! And hold tight onto the Lord always! Your Dad and I love you to the moon and beyond!
Here's a little blurb that we shared on our company social media pages today along with a pic collage:
"We wanted to take a moment and wish our son, Timothy, a Happy Son's Day! He is a TaeKwonDo fighter. This last year has been a big overcoming year for him. One year ago at this time he had been in PICU from loosing all the salt in his body from training very hard for a tournament. After four days in PICU he walked out of the hospital and began his recovery process. After a 5 week rest period and getting his body where it needed to be he began training again. He had to miss all the major tournaments because of this incident. After this his training was very rigorous to get him back into condition. He loves the sport and has recovered and is moving forward. This year he won two state championships, finished second at a third state championship, and Silver medaled at a National Qualifier. He has been such an incredible help this summer with our business. It's been so nice having him on board and learning even more about the business."
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