Wow, I can't believe how fast time can go. I guess the older you get the faster it goes and everyone tell you that until one day it hits you. You realize you are old and everyone was right. I can't believe my babies are already 6. Yes, 6 years ago I had no idea what we were in for. The joys and trials, the laughter and tears, the fear and trembling, or how the Lord would grow our faith when he brought these 2 little boys into our lives.
Most of you know our history but I will briefly give a recap. There has been so much that has happened I will just give some of the highlights (and maybe a couple of low times too). When the boys were born I was so excited, we had 3 girls already and now the Lord blessed with 2 boys.
James was the one we thought might have some problems. He was born with cysts on his kidneys. He had to be in the hospital a lot for testing and ultra sounds but in the end the Lord was always in control. The Lord helped his body to absorb the cysts and in the process it absorbed 1/2 a kidney too. So James only has 1 1/2 kidneys. Since then he has been very healthy. Little did we know that God had even a bigger purpose for him then we knew.
Josiah had been in and out of the hospital most of the first couple years of his life. Finally, after one of his hospitalizations (when he had just turned 2) a Dr. finally asked us..." have you seen a specialist about what is wrong with him?" What is wrong with him? I know most parents want to think their children are healthy and happy. As a momma, I had a thought that something was wrong, I just didn't know what. Josiah didn't even sit up till he was almost 10 months old. He had a huge bump on his back and we could tell he couldn't hear just right. But we didn't know what would be "wrong" with him. Finally after seeing special Dr.'s we found out that Josiah had Hurlers syndrome. It is one of THOSE diseases that people don't like to talk about. No it is not contagious and No we don't mind people asking questions. It seemed at the time that the world was caving around us. I am so thankful that we had good friends, an awesome church, loving family and most importantly the Lord Jesus, who never left our side.
Over the next couple months Josiah had to have lots of test. He even started Enzyme Replacement Therapy (ERT) that was a several hour infusion every week at Vanderbilt. Finally we made the decision after much prayer, that we would go through a transplant. Sometimes it is hard to drudge up the details because I think I have tried to suppress things but I know that even when we felt like we were making the wrong decisions or needed much wisdom that it wasn't actually us , the Lord was in complete control.
Finally, we found out that James, Josiah's twin brother was an identical match for transplant. They look at 10 markers of compatibility when seeing if someone is a match ( I think I remember that number right) and 6 is good but James had all 10!! All the Dr's were shocked but we knew we were just blessed. God had provided us with a blessing of Josiah and James as life saving blessing to us all.
We went through transplant in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Feb.4, 2010 (Josiah was almost 3). As most of you know we moved our family of 7 plus my dad up there for 6 months. The Lord worked out absolutely everything, down to the last detail. Really I mean every detail. I could tell you story after story that would give you goose bumps. We also made some life long friendships while we were up there and even met some angels in the process. :)
One of which most of you know is Torie. She is a little girl with Hurlers that went through transplant the same time as Josiah. She is only 2 months older than he is and we call her our twin triplet since they went through everything on the same day. Their family was instrumental in helping us get through this. I always knew that I could go find momma Cheryl who knew what I was going through. Torie and her family was and is a continual blessing in our lives and we love them like family!
Since then we have had lots to overcome and I am sure he will have lots more, but overall Josiah is doing well. He just had his 3 year post transplant birthday Feb.4th and his work up was wonderful. Few things here and there that we still have to go through but he is still 100% engrafted with normal enzyme levels ( that is what you hope for with a transplant), we couldn't of asked for more of a blessing.
James is doing great too. He loves being Josiah's hero and takes good care of him. He has started to realize there is more of a difference between the two of them but he embraces it and loves Josiah even more.
My 3 older girls are doing well, trying to get through school and other growing up struggles and blessings. The Lord knew I needed 3 older helpers and I don't know what I would do without them. I love them so much.
Jim and I would of never wished this on our family but we are so thankful that God is in control. He sees the bigger picture and we know that our lives are better because of it. We are also so thankful for YOU. All of you who keep up with this blog and encourage us with your thoughts and prayers. You will never know the rich blessing that has been to our family. God has used you in an enormous way and we are so very thankful.
I can't believe how I rambled on, If you are still reading I applaud you and thank you. I guess realizing the boys 6th birthday was upon us made me realize how big of a blessing and trial the last 6 years have been. I know we have just started to climb the hill but look forward to what God has in store for us the the years to come. They might not be easy, but knowing that the Lord is in control, I know they will be for the best.
Blessings on your day, thanks for sharing it with us. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask ... we really don't mind it at all.
Love,
The Carman family
Check out the link below to see a tribute video of the boys 6 years... I hope it works (P.s. I believe One True Media's site is having difficulties. If you can't view it please check back later.. thanks!) :)
James and Josiah's 6th Birthday
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