I apologize it's taken so long to get this posted. I'm not going to give my list of excuses other than it's better late than never. Also if you wish to not listen to the music on my blog you can turn the volume down on your computer or you can scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page to push pause on my music player.
Well another year is coming to a close and it was certainly a year to remember. Every year I sit down and write an annual Christmas letter that reflects on the highlights of the past year and this year it was so long, I figured I would try something different. I decided to post it on my blog in order to save the trees.
As many of you know, Korbin was diagnosed with a disease called Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease in May of 2009 (there are links further down my blog that further explain this disease). This is unrelated to his Type 1 Diabetes and his diagnosis came as quite a shock with the restrictions that are involved with the disease. After much research we started the year off by switching specialists and found a wonderful doctor at Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was then that we knew Korbin was in for a challenging year. His condition required a major surgery called a varus osteotomy that was performed in February, 2010. This was not a cure for the disease, but merely a containment method to keep the head of his femur bone in his hip socket.
He was in a wheelchair unable to bear any weight on his leg for 8 weeks and in May he was cleared to start walking again. It took him 4 weeks to relearn how to walk and the rest of this summer doing physical therapy to gain the strength that he had lost. Korbin worked extremely hard as he fought to gain back his independence and took to bike riding more than ever, seeing as how this was a sport that is non-impact. 
In July, he celebrated his 8th birthday and after another doctors appointment we were told that there was a small amount of re-growth to the head of his femur. This was great news to hear because it meant that his bone was no longer in the fragmentation phase and that it was no longer going to breaking down. Korbin started 3rd grade in August and in October at his next follow up appointment, we were told that he was cleared to full activities! This was such an emotional moment for us because it has been heart wrenching to tell our child that he can no longer run, jump or participate in sports. After hearing the news he immediately wanted to sign up to try and participate in wrestling. Both Brad and I knew absolutely nothing about wrestling and we didn’t realize what an aggressive contact sport it was. As parents of a child that was not allowed to run or jump for 1 year and a ½ to then watching our son go head to head with these kids in wrestling was definitely intense! But we couldn’t be more proud of him. He worked hard, practiced hard, and gave it his all in his tournaments.
Korbin was unable to finish the entire wrestling season because he underwent his second surgery on December 2nd to have the hardware removed that was used to contain the femur from the previous varus osteotomy surgery. It wasn’t long before Korbin was up and walking around.
Kaitlyn was always by his side. The love she has for her brother is unconditional.
After one short week he was ready to go back to school, especially to show off his exciting show-n-tell he had just taken out of his leg. He is now anticipating Christmas just like any other little boy would. He is looking forward to finally being able to participate in baseball again as well as to sign up for a second session of wrestling. We couldn’t be more proud of his amazing attitude, optimism and strength. We learn from him every single day and are grateful to have him in our lives.
Then of course we have our little Miss Kaitlyn. What an amazing three year old girl! With all that has been happening with Korbin this year people might not realize he has a little sister, but she is just as much apart of everything as anyone else, especially how involved she is with her older brother.
She is so full of life, imagination, adventure, expression but most of all attitude. She is also a complete Daddy’s girl and she melts Brad's heart as she runs with a bounding leap into his arms everyday as he gets home from work. She is the epitome of sweet when she looks at us with those big blue eyes. She can use those eyes to tell us all that she knows without speaking a single word and then be the life of the party with non-stop conversation. At the same time she can be our little sneaky and devious troublemaker, but she is a dead give away when she looks at you with a guilty look and rats herself out by saying, "I didn't do anything." She is such a girly girl but at the same time she is our loveable tomboy. All last winter she couldn’t wait to go camping again. So this summer we spent almost every other weekend camping at local areas and she was in absolute heaven as she got down and dirty by making her mud pies and other dirt creations. Over the summer she also had the opportunity to try ballet and we couldn’t believe the natural talent she has for dance. It was wonderful to see her find something that she loved and to see how much she enjoyed it. It’s amazing to see the transformation of our little girl playing in the dirt to getting all dolled up to do ballet.
Kaitlyn has been so attentive and understanding towards her brother and all that he has been through. Sure they have their moments like any siblings do, but they truly have an amazing bond that we are so grateful to see. They have shared many special moments together and we hope their relationship only continues to grow. We can’t wait to see how she grows and what adventures she brings to our lives this upcoming year.
I am still in school, but I am finally feeling like I’m making headway with a year left to finish with my Bachelors in Community Health Education. I switched majors last year due to the waitlists for nursing programs and I truly feel this was the path I was meant to take. I have enjoyed every class so far and when I am done I will be a certified health education specialist and will continue to pursue diabetes education as my career goal. I am also excited to have recently gotten an internship position at the Health Department working for the health promotion office in tobacco prevention programs. Although this semester will be busy, I am excited for new challenges and what the future might have in store for me.
As a family, we have had some awesome camping adventures around Northern and Southern Utah and feel that we have now become camping poor during the summer months. We wouldn’t have it any other way. We know our kids are growing up fast and we are making as many wonderful memories as possible.
Korbin went to his last year at diabetes clubhouse as well as he graduated from diabetes family camp. This means he will be going by himself next summer for an entire week! I’m not sure Brad and I are quite ready to let him go but we are excited for him to have these wonderful experiences. He is also looking forward to trying the winter camps in February where he can learn to snowboard. We also had the amazing experience of participating in this year’s Walk to cure diabetes for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Korbin named his team, Korbin’s Crew for a Cure and over the course of the summer was able to raise $2800, not to mention he was extremely proud to have a story published about him in the newspaper!!
What was even more amazing was during our fundraiser yard sale we were approached by a member of a motorcycle club called the Templar Knights and they took an interest in Korbin’s cause. They wanted to do a fundraising event in his name for diabetes and we chose to raise money for the Foundation for Children and Youth with Diabetes (FCYD) camp that we go to every year. This helps sponsor families that can’t afford to come to camp and they held this event on December 18th.
This was such a great event and we were honored that they held it in Korbin’s name and wanted to participate in such a great cause. Korbin prepared and gave a wonderful speech at the event and we were so proud of him.
We are learning to take life as it comes and to live and love life to its fullest. In our moments of despair we focus on the positive and we have noticed such a difference not only for us but with our kids as well. They fuel our life with optimism and strength. We simply live for them and can’t imagine life without them.
We also want to extend a special thank you to all of our wonderful friends and family that have given us their unconditional love and support. We truly feel blessed to have all of you in and apart of our lives. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! We are crossing our fingers that this year will be uneventful in order to have a boring Christmas letter next year.
Love to all and thank you for taking the time to read about the moments of this past year. Goodbye 2010! With all our love - Brad, Jessica, Korbin & Kaitlyn
