Not At All What We Expected

This past week, my wife and I took Curt to a doctor appointment at the Medical Home Clinic at Arkansas Children's Hospital.  It was the normal appointment at this clinic, until Brittany asked the doctor about his annual swallow study.  The doctor was unsure about continuing them so he ask us a few questions about his responses to taste therapy and his speech therapy.  After that we waited while he spoke with the Speech and Language Pathologist in the clinic. The SLP then examined Curt and ask more questions.  She recommended that we increase his taste therapy and oral stimulation.  She is ordering the swallow study and indicated that this was the start of the road to being able to eat by mouth again.
I don't know who is more excited.This is a huge step that, to be honest, I did not expect.  We had hoped that one day he would be able to experience the flavors and textures that we take for granted.  Curt has set a goal,  he wants to be able to eat a cheeseburger and take a certain young lady that has caught his eye on a date.  I don't know about the date seeing that he is only eight.  So far, he is loving the extra taste therapy.  He loves the filling for Crab Rangoon.
Why am I sharing this with you?  Well, I believe that sharing our little victories helps to keep hope alive for the other little battles we face. We must never give up hope. This hope is what helps us face every day with courage and keeps us from crawling into the hole that we all want to find when everything seems to be going wrong. There are many days that I have to tell myself, "God never puts more on you than you can handle with His help."