Wow.

I cannot even begin to share how incredible the support has felt. Since starting this blog, both Matt and myself have received several messages and emails about Ryan. So many people told us that they've added Ryan to their prayers, are thinking of him, and wish him the best. We've also heard stories from people who know families who have been through this. Others have offered meals, dog-walking, or even to start a fundraiser to off-set medical costs. Like I said, it's been incredible and I love surrounding my son with such positivity.

I wanted to highlight one story in particular that just melted my heart. For those of you who don't know, Matt and I were Resident Assistants (RAs) together at the University of Maryland. For two years, we helped over 140 residents to navigate through the waters of college. And we loved it. It was one of the best prep courses for parenting that life could give provide. We still keep in touch with many of our residents. Which brings me to my heart-warming moment of the week. We got a message from one of our residents (shout out to Vanessa!) saying that her and a group of residents had been discussing how they could help us. They wanted to do some type of fundraiser to help off-set the cost of Ryan's surgeries. And they aren't the only ones. The fact that so many people have so selflessly offered to donate money to his cause leaves me speechless. And that really doesn't happen often ... ask Matt.

Fortunately, we have amazing insurance. So far, Ryan's medical adventures have cost our insurance company thousands and thousands of dollars - but for us, just co-pays. We have never felt so blessed to have insurance.  I cannot imagine the families that have to suffer through this AND worry about medical bills.  With that being said, I am very interested in setting up some type of fund for families with cranio kids who cannot afford surgeries. The idea is very young, but whether it's something that goes directly to the Children's Hospital in DC or perhaps through a fund just for cranio families around the world, it's something that I would like to do. We have been so fortunate and it would make me very happy to pay it forward.

Sometimes you see things happen that make you lose so much faith in humanity. But other times, like this, you remember that there are so many genuinely good people out there. Thank goodness we'll have so many examples to tell Ryan about!

Raise your hand if you're 5 months old and awesome!