Gracie has been doing marvelously. She is always her cheerful self and has loved participating in swim team throughout the first half of the summer. Just the other day, Stephanie took pictures of the kids at a nearby park. These are a few pictures from that photo shoot.
I am grateful for Gracie's health and happiness. She is such a joy and blessing in our lives. I have been blessed by the prayers and faith of many friends and family. I was reminded of all the miracles we have seen as I watched Gracie tell a friend of mine how she needs to protect her real eye with glasses because if she had two fake eyes she would not be able to see. There was no sadness or worry in her voice, she was smiling the whole time and just wanted to explain the facts. This friend has a 15 month old son, Chase, that was recently diagnosed with severe Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy. It is a disease of the heart that is not common in children but can cause sudden cardiac death. They are going through many of the same emotions that we did in our journey with retinoblastoma. I admire their faith and positive outlook through their current struggle. From experience I know that even though you try to have hope and exercise faith, some days are still hard when you don't know what the future holds for your child. My family and I are praying for Chase and his family and hoping for the very best.
You can read more about Chase and his condition here- http://littlechasesbigheart.blogspot.com/
