A friend for life

It was on Valentine's weekend that we got the chance to meet Sophie and her family! For those of you who may not know, Sophie is an amazing little girl that battled IS and had seizures for 3 yrs and then had a subtotal hemispherectomy to gain seizure freedom. She is doing fantastic and has made such a vast improvement in her learning and overall development since her surgery....she is an inspiration to those who know her and her story.



I'm not sure if her mom, Elaine, knows this...but her blog was the first one I found that helped me learn more about IS and she offered such great support to me, as I was trying to figure this stuff out.




So yeah, getting the chance to meet everyone was more than meeting a family with a similar story...it was meeting the people that gave us hope and the strength to know we would get through things one way or another.




Sophie is simply an absolutely Amazing little girl! It was so wonderful to see her interacting with her parents and family and just getting to know them. I followed their story from that first time I found their blog, and it was so refreshing to meet this little girl that has just pushed forward so much. Nothing is going to stop her...she is remarkable!






She could not have done it without the help and support from her family...they are everything she needs and so much more! The support system they have is undeniably the best ever...no questions asked, everyone is there to help and do whatever they can to help Sophie and her family every step of the way.




Wow, okay...now you know how amazing this little girl is and her family, parents Elaine & Brandon, siblings Haley, Elsa, & Charlie. We got to meet a lot more of the family, and there are lots of cousins and aunts and uncles and they were all so kind and welcoming. Grandma Debbie is Extraordinary!...I can't stress that enough. I talked with her for a bit and she just really gets all of this and is ready and willing to do whatever she can.




Here are some pics that snapped when we were all together. Elaine and I exchanged the pics we each took, so this is what I got after sorting through them all:




Matt, Kylie, Sophie, Brandon (girls with their daddies)

A pic of Elsa and Kylie decorating cookies for Valentine's Day.

This is a bear that Kylie found and she had to sit at its feet and climb all over it. If you even tried to pull her away she would scream, so we spent some quality time visiting with the bear.

When we finished our dinner Brandon came over to get Kylie out of her highchair and we were wondering what her reaction was going to be....typically it is not good when a new person tries to pick her up. It was amazing! She not only let Brandon hold her, but he carried her on out around all the other kiddos and she was so content and comfortable! I wanted to remember this moment , so Matt snapped a shot with Elaine and Brandon holding Kylie.

It wasn't just a couple minutes after that where Sophie wanted Matt to hold her. Here is a pic of Matt with Sophie. Matt was trying to be silly and really do a big Cheese for Sophie...well, as you can see he looks like the big cheese :)

Here is a group shot of all of together before we headed home for the night.

I love these last few pics. Sophie is just such a sweet and awesome little girl. Sophie gave us hugs goodbye and I wanted to cry when she gave Kylie a hug and a kiss....how precious is that!

I think that was one of the best little hugs I have ever received! We fully intend to head out to St. Louis sometime this Spring or Summer to visit the zoo and meet up with everyone again.

I'm certain Kylie and Sophie will be friends for a long time to come. Who knows maybe even BFFs one day :)