Cash is coming to Washington!

            We are finally making the trip from Texas to Washington with our little ones! We have done it once before, 2.5 years ago, and I believe this trip will be much easier :) We are coming to visit our family up there and are SO excited! We will be there March 13th through the 18th.
             I wanted to inform all of you "Washingtoners" of an AWESOME fundraiser they are doing for Cash that is going to be huge!! It is a spaghetti dinner/silent auction and raffles with some really great items up for grabs. It will take place on March 16th and the Black Diamond Eagles Club at 4 p.m. Don't know any more details as of now, but will update when I do. :) We are SO VERY thankful to everyone helping out with this! We would never be able to help Cash's vision without y'all!
           If anyone would like to know more or is interested in helping out, contact Roger West at Rogerw@lynden.com.



                                                                                          Thank you,
                                                                                 The Williams Family

                                                                               

                     

Fight for Cash fundraiser coming in June!!

Hey guys! It has been a long, long time since I've blogged on here. I'm sorry I have been such a slacker. The Williams house has been very crazy busy lately! Cash is doing fantastic. He turned 2 in February and is talking up a storm. He is such a silly boy and loves to copy his sisters and make them laugh. He shocks us daily with just how smart he is and continues to remind us of just how blessed we are for his health. He is growing like a weed since starting the growth hormone and is actually looking like a little 2 year old boy. So now it is time for some more stem cells! We are very happy to announce an amazing fundraiser we have coming up June 23rd, 2012 called Fight for Cash. It is a 16 man grappling tournament that will be held at Metroflex gym in Fort Worth. Please join us with all your friends and family, it is going to be so much fun! I will attach a flyer here and also I am attaching a video that was done for our sweet boy to share with everyone. We have had a TON of help on the charity event and on the video and we are so so so very thankful!! Please come out and show your support and enjoy some awesome entertainment!

Video: Fight for Cash

It's been a while...

Hey guys! I know it has been so long since I have blogged and I'm so sorry. There are some followers on here that do not have a Facebook so aren't able to see some of the updates I post about Cash and have been asking about him. Anyways, he is doing WONDERFUL! Development wise, he is right up along side a "typical" sighted child. He talks all the time and he is such a ham. If he does/says something and I laugh, he just keeps doing it over and over because he loves to make people laugh. Vision wise, he is doing great. His light perception has gotten so much better over the past few months that he will sometimes face the TV and "watch" it when it is dark in the room. He can't see what is on the TV but he can see the contrast in colors and brightness and he likes it. He can be in his room and see lights turned on in the hallway or bathroom. He also can see things that are solid red that are held up to his face. This is so much better than when we even first returned from China. He has made so much progress in everything over the past few months. Hormone wise, everything is still fine except for his growth. He has been prescribed growth hormone replacement and will start that as soon as everything is worked out with insurance. We are really excited for him to finally have the right amount of growth hormone and start growing like a weed! Other than that, he is a happy, healthy, super smart 21 month old. We honestly could not be more proud of how far he has come! I can't say a big enough thank you to all who have helped us on his journey, whether it is through donations or prayers or well wishes. We truly appreciate it all SO much!

~Thank you all~
Morgan and Jesse

First post China ophthalmologist appt.

WONDERFUL NEWS!!!! We have been waiting to blog about this until we had an appointment with Cash's ophthalmologist who has been following him since birth. We saw him this morning and he was very impressed with Cash's vision! He read us his notes from back in April when he saw Cash right before we went to China, which said "Despite many attempts, I cannot convince myself that Cash has any light perception whatsoever." Now, 2 months after stem cell treatment began, he said not only does Cash have light perception, he has a step above that called light projection. Light projection means that he can identify the area in which the light is being shined. He said he can obviously see an improvement and he is very pleased with it. He wants to send an email to a doctor we saw before that was kind of discouraged with our  decision to take Cash for stem cells. He wants the doctor to know what he has seen! He ended by telling us that he thinks the future of Cash's vision definitely lies within stem cells. This treatment is so new and it's only getting better and better. Cash's vision can now improve for up to a year on this treatment alone. There are several children that have gone back for a 2nd or even 3rd trip, receiving better results everytime.
                    I know that any of this wouldn't be possible without our amazing God who makes anything possible! He definitely has favor for our sweet little Cash and continues to show us everyday just how much of a miracle he really is! I also really want to just tell all of you THANK YOU so much!! To each one of you that donated to Cash, or that had a hand in helping in any way, you were all a part of a true miracle, and it just doesn't get any better than that! :) We love you guys so much! We are wanting to go back to China maybe next year, or just whenever we can save enough/raise enough to go back. We, along with his doctor, are so encouraged by what we have seen and it can only get better and better.


Morgan and Jesse

...and were off to CHINA!!!

Hey everyone. I'm sorry I've been lacking on the blog updates, we been just a little busy around here ;). So as most of you know, we are leaving for China in just 4 days! We will be there for 17 days, returning home at 11:59 p.m. on June 23rd. This absolutely would not be possible without all of yall's help! We have the best friends and family ever, that's for sure! This would also never have been possible without all of our blessings from the Lord. It seems like we have just been blessed on one thing after another lately, it is so amazing! Life is gooooood. Cash is doing really well. He is getting so big and smart, and has developed an awesome personality. He is so much fun now, we are LOVING him getting older. He will start working with an Orientation & Mobility therapist when we return from China, who will be the one to teach him to walk confidently. I, especially, am so excited for this because he is getting really heavy! He has an appointment with his Endo also when we return from China, and will start on his GH injections then. He will be a growing machine! Other than that, everything is going great! We will keep all of y'all updated on everything, and just ask all of you to pray for us everyday. Pray that this goes as smoothly as possible, and Cash adjusts quickly. A happy Cash keeps everyone happy :). Pray for safe flights on the way there and back. I know God will be there with us! Thank you to all of you for your donations and your support. We love you all!

Morgan and Jesse

Cash's Ophthalmologist appt.

Yesterday, Cash had his check up at the pediatric ophthalmologist. There wasn't really much that he could do since Cash is still so young and can't tell us anything. As far as we can tell, there is still no light perception, or anything at all. As all of you ONH mommies know, it is always good to find a good doctor that supports our decisions to take our babies to China. We need all the support and help that we can get. So Cash's doctor yesterday was so awesome! He is the one that diagnosed him at 4 months, and we haven't seen him since. He told me that he is very proud of what we are doing for our son, and if it was his child he would already be on a plane to China. He told me a really neat story about his experience with stem cells. His daughters best friend was 20 wks pregnant when they told her that she should not keep the baby because the babies brain was severely underdeveloped, and there was no way she could survive more than a few hours after birth. The family got in contact with a doctor at a university that agreed to do a stem cell transplant on the baby girl after she was born. After the baby was born, she was sent home on hospice, and she received the stem cells. Long story short, Cash's doctor is attending her 3rd birthday party in June, and she is walking and talking! So he has seen it with his own eyes, and truly believes that if Cash will ever have a chance at sight, this is it. He is going to do another check up when we get back from China and see what kind of improvements he has. As I was checking out of the office, the receptionist said "I don't know why, but he is not charging you. You owe nothing." How sweet is that? I asked her to thank him for me when he came out of his next appt. Then about 40 minutes later, I got a notification saying that his doc had just donated $250 to Cash's account. Now if thats not a supportive doctor, then I don't know what is! :)

Results from the Endo...

So Cash got his final results back from the Endocrinologist. All of the tests came back normal except one... his growth hormone. We got the call today from the doctor, his Growth Hormone (GH) level should be in the hundreds, and his is 14. The doctor was very surprised by this because that is extremely low, almost undetectable,  and typically with this level he would be off the charts in length. Normally they would start the injections right away, but since Cash is still 15th percentile in his length, he's going to test him again in July and start him on injections then if it's still so very low. I've had a feeling his GH was low since my girls are both tall and he's been so short. The good thing is, with the shots, he will still grow to be of normal size. The HGH will make his levels normal so he will grow to be the size he would be normally. He will take them 6 nights a week until he's done going through puberty. His doctor told me that kids get used to it very quickly and it becomes no big deal. He said he has a young girl that already gives her own injections. I don't know the exact cost of these since we haven't had to cross this bridge yet, but I'm praying that our insurance will cover a large chunk of them since this is something that we will have to do for many years. Anyways, just keep him in your prayers that everything will work out fine. This is just something that comes along with his disability, and it could always be a lot worse. Praise God that his other levels were normal!