Heart problems!

Most people know the song by Tony Bennett - "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" - well, San Francisco is a beautiful city - I have been there many times. However, I left my heart in Mansfield MA. Actually it was stolen by a very sly, con artist. He stands a little over 2 foot tall - blond hair, blue eyes and a killer smile. His name is Sawyer Matthew Low and he is our grandson.

He started out innocent enough. Giving us an evaluating look - "I have seen you people before - hmmm - easy targets as I remember!" He followed this with bigger smiles - slobbery kisses - and then heart breaking hugs. Whatever his style - he is good!

Ed, Scott and I flew into Providence RI on 16 July. Dawn, Greg and Sawyer met us at the airport and whisked us off to Mansfield. Much better accommodations at the hotel Low than any three star resort!

Sawyer has a bigger schedule than most Hollywood socialites! He has speech therapy, feeding therapy, PT,early intervention - play groups etc. He is growing and I think he is gaining weight - (Just try holding him for a long period and you realize he may look petite, but he is solid as a rock!)

Crawling has been long mastered and while he was just beginning to "pull up" when he was with us in TN in April, he springs up like a jack in the box now! Nothing and I mean nothing is safe at table height when Sawyer is in the room. He has a very good memory too. He knows when he sees items of interest (His Grandpa Ed's eyeglasses for example) on a table and he will check periodically to see if they have reappeared unguarded for him to explore.

He loves the computer printer and just KNOWS anything shooting out of that machine has to be for him. Thankfully his mommy is quick at retrieving the printed documents.

One of Sawyer's biggest challenges is gaining weight. He eats well, but his grandpa Ed calls him a "hummingbird" because he is never still! Once his eyes open, his body goes into high gear. He is not walking yet - but he crawls, rolls, pulls up and just is a total moving machine!

We had such a pleasant visit and the weather could not have been better - well a few degrees cooler would have been nice - but no rain and being from TN, we know a summer day means HOT!

Seeing Dawn and Greg with Sawyer gives us hope for his future. As the mother of a child with m/r and the local president of the ARC here, I have an opportunity to meet with parents frequently who have done very little to prepare their child for the future. Many parents are agreeable to sitting back and waiting for others to plan for their child or specifically tell them what to do. Often it does not happen. More often the guidance is incomplete or just plain wrong! Raising a special needs child is not for sissies! You have to forget all the manners and niceties we have been told to observe by our parents. You have to be proactive - and sometimes downright rude! No one and I mean no one will fight for your child like you will!

Dawn and Greg are fighting hard for Sawyer. They are giving him every opportunity at normalcy. Honing the skills he has shown he has and providing him with the edge to get new skills for the future.

I have always known my baby girl was amazing. She excelled at everything she wanted to do. She set high standards and reached them. She organized and executed her plans for the future. Williams Syndrome was not part of that plan. So now she and her husband plan to conquer or at minimize the effects of this obstacle on their son. As we are learning - no one can tell us what exact problems Sawyer may have - they may be large or maybe not! He has shown us he learns well, he has an intense interest in the world around him - and he is pretty sure most of it should be his!

Spending a week in Sawyer's world was a blast! We went to the beach (2 times), we visited the Children's Museum in Providence RI, we ate Godiva Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory and we got to hug and love on this wonderful family treasure! Of course we brought home a ton of pictures and videos to last us until we get our next visit in Sept. Best of all, we brought home HOPE - AND FAITH in Sawyer, in Dawn and Greg and in God -through Whom ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!

(KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING - FOR THIS VERY BUSY YOUNG MAN AND HIS FAMILY!)