Happy days are here again ....

Michael Todd has officially been home from the hospital nine days.  Over a week.  And he continues to recover beautifully!

Michael is a very happy little boy.  We had Christmas the day before yesterday (yes, Christmas in March, of all things!), and he was excited about the new sled and the video game/Wii game system we got him.  He wanted to play with his Wii system, but we told him that he'd have to hold off until the doctor gave him the okay.  He isn't completely healed yet from his recent hospital stay/surgery.

Michael's little sisters Ericka and Talitha (ages nine and seven) and his little brother, D.J. (short for Daniel Jacob; he's three) were all excited to have their big brother back with them.  They hadn't seen him in over a month and a half; his oldest sisters weren't sure whether they'd ever see him again.  All they knew about the accident was this: their big brother had been seriously injured, and at the time, things didn't look very promising for him.

They just didn't know HOW bad it really was.  Maybe in a way that is a good thing: it was traumatic enough for my husband and myself to see him in ICU, hooked up to every tube known to man, and not knowing whether he was going to make it.

Yet, by God's infinite grace, Michael did make it, which was a miracle.  People have already started calling our oldest son "The Miracle Boy", and with good reason.  He survived being shot in the heart and survived major heart surgery.  When we go to church this coming Sunday, it will be Michael's first venture out of the house since coming home from the hospital (rather, his second: he went to see Dr. Dinh on Monday; Dr. Dinh gave him a clean bill of health but hasn't officially cleared him from participating in any strenuous activity until he heals some more, probably in a few more months).

I know everybody will be thrilled to see him.  It will be a day of celebration, especially on our end.

We have been talking with Henry, Michael's cousin, trying to uplift his sagging spirit.  After all, it was Henry who accidentally shot Michael in the first place; ever since, the fifteen-year-old has been carrying an incredible amount of guilt and blame.  It hurts us to see Henry being so distraught, but we have been trying to tell him (and his family) that it was only an accident and that Michael survived; he is going to be okay.

I just wish we knew what to do for Henry and his family.  Poor Henry is beside himself and doesn't want to do anything.  He has been affected by this event (who wouldn't??), and it is probably going to take a very long time for him to get over it and move on.

In the meantime, all we can do is pray for Henry and ask God to give the boy a sense of peace and comfort that passes all understanding.

I'm just thankful that it didn't end up worse.  We could have very easily lost Michael, but God saw him thorugh the accident, the surgery, and the recovery, and he is slowly (but surely) bouncing back.  It was truly a work of God, and we can't thank Him enough!

~The End.~

P.S.: We will update Michael's progress (as well as Henry's) in the coming months; this isn't the last you will have heard from us, the Erskine family!  :)