Look Who's Walking!!!

Yes, it's actually Mason! 

He's finally walking.....

all by himself!

At age 4 years and 8 months 

Miracle Mason finally walks!

 Hooray!

"Optimism is the faith that leads to Achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

~Helen Keller

If anyone is a perfect example of optimism it is Mason!

He may take his time, BUT he doesn't give up!

Most heart kiddos walk much sooner than Mason,but he had many things going on that held him back. First of all, in the important early months and years of development he was in heart failure (from 15 to 28months old). His body was in complete survival mode at that time. Learning to walk was definitely not a priority! On top of that he had pulmonary vein

stenosis going on (and still does), so his body functions off of only one lung, thus he tires easier that the rest of us with 2 lungs! After his heart transplant I thought for sure he would walk soon, but little did I know he would be on steroids for 18 months and the longer you are on them the more they weaken your muscles.  He finally came off of the nasty steroids last October, but he had a lot of muscle strengthening to do before he could walk. Then his scoliosis continued to worsen which brought us to the point of surgery a few months ago, in April. With all of that behind him, better balance due to his back surgery, lots of practice, and building of his confidence.....Mason walks!!! As I've always said, "Mason is on his own agenda in life!" But, at least when he wants something he doesn't give up, even if it takes him a long time to get it!

A bit of more positive news.....

Mason has continued to receive blood transfusions and IVIg treatments almost monthly since December because of the Parvo virus and finally at his last appointment with hematology (Monday July 23) his lab worked showed that his body is finally making new red blood cells again and at a good rate! He will probably still continue the IVIg treatments for a few more months just to be sure that the Parvo is completely gone, but at least we've seen some progress.

We did make it to the beach a couple weeks ago and 

had a GREAT time. I will post more pictures soon. 

Thanks for checking in on us! Hope you are having an enjoyable summer!