(Originally published to Sam’s Caring Bridge site on 4.8.19. To read all previous entries from Sam’s NICU journey, visit his Caring Bridge site: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samueldwenger)

A little over a week ago Samuel was dedicated at our church – a very special moment for our family.  Our prayer is that Sam will learn what it means to be a child of God and that he will grow to know, love and serve Him faithfully.  We felt so loved and supported by our church family and our own families who were there with us.  After the service our families went out for lunch to celebrate and while we were all together, Jim received a call from Sam’s genetics doctor at Dayton Children’s.  He had taken time out of his Sunday afternoon to make sure that Sam’s test results from his urine test were read by a pathologist and then personally called us with the results.  The test had been to rule out a few rare and serious forms of skeletal dysplasia, and we were happy to hear that the results were negative.  He told us that, “We can all let out a little sigh of relief for now.”  God’s timing is perfect, as we were able to share this news with our families before everyone went home!  

So now there are a few next steps that lie ahead:

We are awaiting the next round of test results – a genetic blood test – to narrow down what form of skeletal dysplasia he may have.  And we hope to have these results before April 25th, because Sam will have two appointments on that day with specialists at Johns Hopkins at the skeletal dysplasia clinic there.  As we prepare to make the 8 hour drive to Baltimore for those appointments, please pray for safe travels, and for peace and hope for our family, no matter the outcome or prognosis.  We are still facing a lot of unknowns, but we’ve been so blessed by those who have come alongside us with words of love and encouragement.