We moved you to Ascent this year and you had the most incredible teacher. Mrs. Tupuola. Seriously my love, if you come to me as an adult and tell me she was your favorite teacher, I would not be surprised. She adored you, you two were buddies. She loved the way your mind worked, how hard you loved and tried and showed up. You were always so thoughtful, kind, loved deeply and wear your heart on your sleeve. (which doesn't surprise me one bit. That is you in a nutshell) You did things like make solar ovens to cooks s'mores and you fell in love with The wild Robot because of her.
Unfortunately your year with her was cut short because that Christmas we moved back to Cedar. You were thrilled and heartbroken all at the same time. I think if you could have taken her and your friends in that class with us, you would have. 🤣
You loved Mrs. Robinson, she was absolutely darling but I think you were definitely missing your old friends. And crazy enough, wearing uniforms. Lol I was so worried you would hate them but even after we moved, you would still wear your uniform for a long time. Slowly moving to the uniform shirt with jeans or the uniform pants with a shirt. If you hadn't out grown then, I think you would still be wearing them. 🤣
Soon 7 ended with a big finish, go out with a bang if you will lol about two weeks before your birthday, I picked you up from school and you were hunched over. You told me you stayed in from recess and just sat your head on your desk, which was very unlike you, you could be dying and you would still find a way to be at recess.
We took you hope put you on the couch and figured you actually had a stomach bug. (A few days early we were headed to st George so Dad and I could go on a date for my birthday and when we got there you were having a lot of pain and threw up a few times which we chocked up to car sickness.) So we put you on the couch, friend to help you relax. You seem alright as long as you didn't move too much so I sent Dad to his temple appointment. Not long after he left, you said you were hungry so I got you some oranges and set them next you you, well you wouldn't move your arm to eat them. So I came sat by you and fed them to you. Not long after that, you needed to use the restroom, and the as you tried to move, tears started rolling down your face. I had worries that it might be your appendix but I kept brushing it aside thinking it was just me worrying and going to worst case scenario but after trying to get you to the bathroom, I couldn't deny it any more. I put my hand on your stomach and did one of the tests they recommend.. tears started welling in your eye. Then we tried a jump test, and instantly your attempted brave face, crumbled. I also noticed you were starting to fever. Your dad called me on his way home from the temple and I told him, you were not ok. He called the on call doctor, got home, did some of the same tests I had done while the doctor was on the phone and he told us to go to the hospital. So off we we went.
You tried to be so brave for all the doctors but you were clearly in a lot of pain. We had to wait a very long time and it was very late. The doctor did some tests and sent is for a Cat Scan, and by time the results got back, it was midnight.
They said it was your appendix. They hoped they could get you admitted, give you some medicine and then do the surgery the next morning. however they had a full OR schedule the next day and they knew you couldnt wait till the evening so we pivoted and they let us know we would do surgery that night. We called uncle Kirk and he came and help give you a blessing before your surgery which was about 2am. At that point I went and sat in the room waiting for you and dad ran home to check on the girls.
One very huge blessing in all of this, we were told because this isn't a children's hospital, if the oncall surgeon didn't feel comfortable doing it, they would have to fly us to the closest children hospital, which would have been SLC. We were so grateful Heavenly Fathers was in the details on this one because the surgeon said he felt comfortable and we could just do it in Cedar. Massive blessing ❤️
Your surgery went perfect! Another huge blessing! And you and I just sat at the hospital for the next 14 hours. It was incredible to watch your bravery, strength and I could feel Heaven there with us. From you first waking up, to your first walk to the bathroom to you getting to the point you could walk a lap around the hospital wing, just to prove you were well enough to go home so we didn't have to stay another night. That night with you was so tender and special. I will never forget the experience and how in this place, in this hospital room, it became a sacred place where He sent angels to be with us. I was so tired, I went and almost 48 hours without sleeping but God was my strength. Our Savior was there, strengthening and comforting us.
You're healing went pretty well! Another huge blessing. You were a little restless because sitting and watching shows or playing video games really isn't your thing. But another tender blessing, Mrs. Lisa and Mrs. Sherry sent dinner and all sorts of fun games, toys and Legos for you. We also bought some Lego sets for you to build.
With moving, life, work and all the things I am writing this later than I wanted to. About 6 months late lol But I am actually a little grateful because I can also include your vision therapy. Before we moved, you were constantly having headaches and saying your eyes hurt. We took you to a specialist and we found out you have convergence deficiency. Essentially, your eyes don't want to work together. The treatment wasn't covered by insurance and was a very very huge amount and we felt like we needed to wait. Fast forward to the May after you turned 8 and we had your annual eye check up. We learned that not only did you eyes not like working together but your left eye would just start turning off to stop the double vision. We talked with the and we found out that this was covered by our insurance (we changed providers when we moved) and it was significantly a different cost. - Another incredible blessing. You've done your first round of vision therapy. You Loved Mrs. Carly! She has been amazing! She is such a good teacher and has really met you where you are. She leaned into your love of science, engineering and 3D printing and really just connected with you. It wasn't always easy but after just the first session I can see how much you have grown.
I think what I have learned the most watching you this last year and a bit, is that we can do hard things, and that even in the midst of hardness, God will be with us. He will send blessing and help us all along the way. He love you so much! He knows this life will be hard but He promises to be with us. He will be your strength and support through every piece off your life. Lean on Him. Trust Him. When life gets messy, dark or confusing, trust that He will always help you know the truth. I love you so much my Cooper! I am so proud of how hard you have worked, of your strength and resilience. I know He is with you. He is with us.
I am so proud of your decision to be baptized and follow your Savior. It was so tender that you also had the opportunity to do it over Easter weekend. The whole week was so full of the spirit and I cannot thing of a better way to Celebrate and remember our Savior.
We love you sweet boy! I can't wait to see what this next year brings.
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