Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you... (I Kings 9:7)

Ok, I know that's a silly choice of Bible verse for this blog post. But it was the first one to jump into my head and I'm going to roll with it!

Today we got a phone call. A really, really good phone call.

Our insurance has approved Leo's treatment by the Penn State Feeding Clinic in Hershey PA.

Hooray!  Leo is (as most of our friends know) entirely G-tube fed. He has had what's known as an "oral aversion" his entire life, and consequently he never developed all the coordination and reflexes necessary to chew and swallow.

The irony here is of course that he looks like the sort of kid who should really enjoy food. He's happy, a bit pudgy, and he likes to pretend to eat.   The food goes up to his lips. He makes a smacking sound and an appropriate looking mess ends up on his hands and face and the table. But nothing actually gets eaten. Nothing is ingested.

So today's good news is that he is approved for 3 to 5 weeks of feeding therapy at this specialty clinic, starting May 4th.  This could mean that Leo could, at last, transition away from being G-tube fed and get all the benefits, physical and social, of eating table food.  That's not to mention the fact that I can only imaging that eating real food must (must!) be more enjoyable than getting food through a tube.  So there's a definite gain in the quality of his little life on the horizon here.

So, 3 to 5 weeks.  In Hershey.

That's going to be something else.... something that we will ask you to join us in prayer for.   Kim will be with Leo while Mom-mom and I hold down the fort here with everyone else. As much as I love my mother in-law (I mean it, zero sarcasm there) I will miss Kim dreadfully during these weeks, and the rest of children will too.

Leo too, will need your prayers.  The little guy will experience the discomfort of hunger for (possibly) the first time in his life.  That won't be fun for him.

We also have accommodations to pray about.  Please pray that Kim and Leo will be permitted to stay at the nearby Ronald McDonald house ... otherwise we'll end up spending a small fortune on their hotel stay!

So, that's the great news for the day.  Thank you, friends, for praying.  God is good and He answers prayer!