We had another visit with the transplant center last week, and our little son Ian continues to defy the odds. His PELD is a 13 (though he is officially a 16 since he doesn't need rescored yet). We have been told there is not a medical explanation for how well he is doing. I am grateful for his growth and progress. It is not an easy thing to deal with for Elaine and me, but we welcome the opportunity to get to know our little son better each day and watch him grow. After seeing the story of another little boy, Carter Heckman, it makes me even more grateful. It is my belief that little ones like Carter, Ian, and others with biliary atresia, have an eternal bond and knew each other well in their life before this one. These little ones and the families involved volunteered to have this trial in their lives. Why we volunteered, I do not yet know, but I have had this confirmed to me several times by things others have said and by answers to prayers. It does not make it any less painful when things do not go well, and my heart goes out to Carter's parents even now, several months after their loss. I do not know why Ian thrives while others, like Carter, do not. I have nearly reached the point where I no longer ask God why... nearly, but not quite...

While in Atlanta for a transplant checkup, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to see the Giants and Braves play. The Braves took 2 of 3, which was disappointing but expected. The Giants have not played well this year, and are cellar-dwellers. I did get to see Bonds hit #759, though I thought Andruw Jones was going to get it. On Thursday, Mark came up and we went golfing at the North Fulton Golf Course and then to the game that night. It was HOT golfing... helps me better understand why they call it HOTlanta. In the first inning that evening, Bengie Molina hit a 3-run homer that came to our section, nearly right to us. It hit a row in front of us and about 4 people over from where we were sitting. The guy who caught it made a very good barehanded catch. I've never been that close to a home run or a foul ball before, but I hope to have many more chances. I would have gone for that ball, but there were small children in front of us that we would have had to trample to get to the ball... not worth hurting a child for a souvenir.

I have noticed that it takes an event to get me to enter something in my blog. Today's event: 756. That's the career home run total for Barry Bonds, and he did it in San Francisco. Not a cheapie, and I certainly appreciate that the Nationals pitched to him instead of around him. I've enjoyed watching baseball, especially the Giants, over the last few days while he approached and then broke the record. Given that they stink (the Giants), I don't expect I'll see much more of the Giants on tv.

I am looking forward to going to see the Giants play next week. Again, I'm going to attend all three games. This time, my friend Mark will be joining me for the third game. I will enjoy seeing them play live... there's nothing else like it.

Tied to that trip, Ian has a checkup with the transplant center. His score continues to jump around (cue House of Pain), with nothing indicating he'll receive his transplant anytime soon. We just continue to wait. Overall, life is pretty good, I think (part of that is the euphoria from seeing that home run). And if it isn't the euphoria, why not? Life is short. We should enjoy it.