The Beginning of the Road

I am a HUGE fan of Amazon Prime...it's one of my favorite things.  I told Adam when we first subscribed to Amazon Prime that it would save us TIME and MONEY.  Now I'm positive we have saved time, money...not so much.  That being said, with my Amazon Prime subscription I have access to this awesome feature called "Prime Photos" which stores all of our family photos FO' FREE (well, with my subscription...), and every day I love looking at my Prime Photos app and seeing what photos come up from this same day in years past.

When I woke up this morning (at 4:15, thanks to Maverick and Daylight Savings Time!), I was hit with these pictures:

I was flooded with emotion after seeing these pictures, because on this day in our family history, November 5, 2015, Ryker had his first MRI.  These pictures captured me and Ryker, a new mom and a four month old boy, right at the beginning of a long, stressful, scary, joyful, and truly AWESOME road.

At the time of Ryker's MRI, I had no idea what to expect; I was scared for my baby and nervous for what the MRI may show.  I cried when they gave Ryker his IV, I cried when they started the anesthesia, and I REALLY cried when they wheeled him away.  Any parents who have been in a similar situation with their baby (or child of any age) can probably understand the feelings I had.  So many of these feelings can be tied to fear, particularly the fear of the unknown.

It would be almost exactly a month after this date, December 8, 2015, when our "unknown" became our "known": Joubert Syndrome.  Shock, grief, anger, and yes, more fear, come with a diagnosis like this, but after navigating this road for two years now (with so much more ahead), I can tell you what else comes with this diagnosis:

• Incredible JOY
• Happiness
• Indescribable LOVE
• Awesome Friendships
• Knowledge
• Power
• Determination
• Faith
• Gratitude
• STRENGTH

I wish I could go back in time and talk to Kasey (me) on November 5, 2015.  I wish I could give her a hug and assure her that everything would be okay.  I wish I could give her a glimpse of all of the great things to come.  I wish I could show her all of the truly awesome things her four month old was going to accomplish, and all of the wonderful people he would touch in his life.  I wish, I wish, I wish...

...but to go back in time and comfort the past me and show me the road ahead would forever change my story and who I am today.  Because you see, the hardest times often lead to the greatest times in life.  As Jimmy Dugan said in A League of Their Own, "the hard is what makes it great!"

I am so thankful for this road we are on, for the people in our lives, and for the people we are today.  I am reminded that while the beginning of the road may be difficult -- and you'll certainly hit bumps along the way --  there will be so much GOOD to come. 

​You just gotta have faith.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." ~ Hebrews 11:1