On October 22 our baby girl turned two years old. I can’t believe how fast babies grow into children. The past two years have been filled with challenges, laughter, and incredible memories. For those of you that don’t know our families story, Ella was born with Cystic Fibrosis.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that: clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. We found this information out when Ella was only 11 days old. The only thing that SJ and I knew about CF at that point was that people with CF have short life spans. Well God began to give us hope in a situation that had no hope. We came to the realization that the Creator of this world did make our daughter this way and we began a process of releasing anger and accepting the way she was created. Well fast forward two years… Ella has hit every development mile stone along the way (solid food, crawling, walking, words, running, jumping, sentences, and counting). From the outside you would never know the struggles of our little girl. God has truly blessed us with a team of doctors at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO to help us understand and get the best health care for Ella. We have made adjustments to the way we raise her but life is good and beyond the side effects of CF Ella is a healthy girl.
Thank you friends and family for washing your hands, getting flu shots, staying away when sick, doing chest therapy, and most importantly praying for our family. I also could not have made it through these last two years without my amazing wife, SJ. She is on top of the latest health treatments and takes steps every day to help Ella know who God is. Sarah Jane you are amazing and I love you! Thank you for being my friend, wife, and mother of my daughter. We are blessed family. Thank you God for watching over our little girl and giving us the wisdom to raise her!
Here are some photos from Ella’s two year photo shoot. Enjoy!
To view a photo of Ella as a baby check out the post from Art East last year (first photo). I used one of her photos for my display photo in the Jacoby Art Center of Alton, IL.