the beginning

This was one of those things that happens to other people.  One of those stories you see on Mystery Diagnosis (no, really youtube it), Dateline, or something like that.  We are telling Oliver's story for two reasons.  First, his diagnosis, OMS (omsusa.org), is extremely rare and very often, misdiagnosed.  Second, we know that Oliver will be victorious through our faith in Jesus and in God's ability to move miraculously in our lives to heal completely.

On Thursday April 4th, we spent the day at Mimi's (Taylor's mom) house.  On a trip to Target, we were looking at the toys and noticed that Oliver seemed to startle excessively.  Over the last couple of days he had been walking funny, with his arms bent at the elbows and drawn back a bit.  We attributed this to a growth spurt and Oliver's getting his balance figured out again.  None of this caused us any concern at the time.

On Saturday April 6th, while out to dinner with my parents, my mom mentioned that she had seen Oliver's eyes move back and forth quickly and repeatedly that day.  Taylor and I discussed it, but Oliver seemed completely himself otherwise- happy, cheerful and full of spunk.  So, we decided we would keep an eye on him and visit the pediatrician on Monday.  

Sunday morning, April 7th, Oliver seemed a bit shaky, but again, otherwise normal.  We visited a new church and I asked the nursery worker to keep an eye on him.  When we picked him up, she said he seemed okay, but maybe a bit tired.  Since we had woken him up from a nap to go in, we dismissed it.  Later that day, Oliver was running toward me and I watched his eyes roll back into his head.  He came to a complete stop and started crying.  At this point, Taylor and I regrouped and decided to call the nurse line for our doctor.  They sent us to the ER.  We took him to U of M Mott.  

Writing this down, it sounds like we ignored a lot of things, but in the moment...none of it seemed all that obvious, especially since Oliver was completely normal in his behavior.  When questioned, we were also able to come up with a few other signs-  he hadn't been sleeping well at all for about a week, waking frequently.  Taylor also noted his gross motor skills seemed to have declined a bit, he was unable to hit a golf ball or baseball as well as he had several weeks prior.  

It has taken me a few weeks to begin this blog...time with my hands free is limited to after Oliver is in bed.  And, he only began sleeping in his own bed again 4 night ago.  I will do my best to update with what has progressed since our 7:30 pm arrival at the Mott ER on Sunday the 7th tomorrow night.  (and hopefully we will have our treatment schedule finalized by then).

Thank you for choosing to support our family with your prayers!  We are so very grateful and would ask that you be in agreement with us as the Word teaches (Psalm 133:1-3). 

We are praying for the complete removal of every symptom that Oliver has been experiencing. Our prayer and belief is that Oliver is healthy and whole and his body functions perfectly from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes, the way our Creator intended. Oliver has already been healed by Jesus' stripes on the cross (1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-5) and we thank you again for joining us in these prayers! 

love- taylor, katie and oliver

(Specific thanks to Marcus and Erin Crosby who wouldn't take no for an answer--they softened us up with cookies first and then brought by some delicious stuffed shells and texas sheet cake!)

These are some recent pictures of Oliver- the oldest one was taken at his 

birthday party in January.  The comments are from his perspective:)

here i am trying to catch the kite while papa randy was flying it for me on easter...
might have been easier with my eyes open.

me and nana on easter

my mimi and papa ernie playing games with me at lunch one day.
please excuse my shirt...daddy dressed me

this is my 2nd birthday
mimi, aunt ashley, addy, mommy, me, brutus and papa ernie

me at the range with daddy a few weeks ago.
daddy says i was hitting them pretty well!

playing in the sandbox at mimi and papa's house.