A "Most Precious Surprise"

As per my daily routine, I called Mark on Saturday morning to see how things were going at the hospital. It was quite early, so Mark told me that Tyler was still asleep and that he was just about to jump into the shower. About an hour later, my doorbell rang, and to my astonishment, Mark was standing at my doorstep holding the most precious surprise I have ever received. TYLER! In his own words, he told me, “I thought you were going to cry when you saw me, Auntie Kara.” I suppose I have been doing a lot of crying around this little man, and although I let it out in private, I made sure that I did not shed one tear on such a happy event. I covered him with hugs and kisses, since for the past six weeks, I could not touch even one little inch of his body. Needless to say, he seemed glad to have my hugs and wet kisses, and I was very generous with them! As I was hugging him, I asked him if it was hard to not touch other people, and he sighed, “Yes, it was very hard.” He had been granted a day pass, today and yesterday, so he spent two beautiful sunny days outside of the four walls that have been his home for the last 6 and a half weeks. His color was great, and he had looked as though he grew a bit.

He received a new walker this week, and was pleased to show me how strong he is. He has had a very busy week, taking a few steps with his walker daily and trying to eat a bit more than he has been. Randy Tieman paid a pleasant visit to Tyler’s quarters to interview him. Now Tyler is not only a radio personality, but he will be on television too! Things seem to be on the mend, although a slight fever seems to be appearing on occasion. Monday brings more tests for Tyler, to determine the cause of this on and off temperature. Once again, thank you for all the support you have shown through emails, comments on the blog, and phone calls. Team Tyler has raised over $5000.00 to put towards finding a cure for this terrifying disease. If you are interested, please come and walk to honor this brave little boy. Please continue to pray, as we still have a long road ahead, but we are thankful for every little step and obstacle that he overcomes.