Amos Ross Updates

Hi everyone,

There are thirty treatments of radiation that Amos has to get through before his first (and potentially only) major treatment is complete. That means he’ll be going across the street for treatment every morning, five days a week, for six weeks. Today was Day 2, and Amos did a very good job, with Mommy close at hand helping him along. He was in much higher spirits than yesterday, and was very interactive and even cheerful with the nurses as “hospital time” wore on through the supposed time frame of his appointment. This is something we have gotten used to, but which can still be frustrating.

By the time Amos was back up in his room, I had arrived from the house and brought a very special guest – Luke! Amos was very glad to see his little brother, and they had a great time interacting, really for the first time in any meaningful way, for over a month. It was such a wonderful thing for us all to do together. Luke sat up in Amos’ bed and the boys played a bit with some stuffed animals. Then we all got on the floor mat together while two of Amos’ therapists came and we had a great time seeing Amos make more progress, physically. He was waving, giving high-fives and thumbs up, clapping his hands, shaking a shaker toy, stomping his feet, and so on. And it is such a relief to start to see some characteristic Amos expressions and gestures (like drumming or “showing off his big muscles”). Little steps add up to a lot! He did so much today that he had a pretty classic meltdown at around 5pm after having missed his nap. Even the energy driving his frustration and anger in those moments is encouraging in some ways.

One of the most exciting things about today, though, was that Amos started to clearly communicate with us. He now has enough control of his head to give clear ‘yes’ and ‘no’ nods and shakes! This was a huge and pleasant surprise for us today – this evening I casually asked Amos if he was comfy in bed, and he gave me a sudden smile and a distinct nod. Then, I asked if he was going to sleep and he grinned and shook his head – wow! What a great moment. Praise the Lord that Amos is able to communicate in small ways now.

Amos also got to open a lot of great cards today from the Penn State Abington Thon team – he really loved looking through them all. The knights, dinosaurs, trains, and cowboys were perfectly appropriate for this little man, and I’m sure he will insist on keeping this hung up on his walls in time to come!

Please keep praying:

– That Amos will keep up his great attitude and strength from today in the days and weeks to come
– That the posterior fossa syndrome would pass soon
– That the therapies will be a big success and Amos will recover his motor skills in leaps and bounds
– That the radiation treatment would have few or no side effects, and totally eradicate any remaining cancerous cells
– That the Lord would continue to see us through all of the details and logistics of this process

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support! We continue to be amazed at it all.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)

Love in Christ,

Will, Kelli, Amos, and Luke