He’s come a long way!

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that my little grandson, who at the age of 4 had two brain surgeries that saved his life, went from looking like this…

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To looking like this today…

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Ben is only 12 years old, but he is so tall that he towers over me…

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He does not remember anything at all about his health problems as a young child. When he was only 3, he was diagnosed with an arteriovenous fistula (a vascular abnormality) in his brain. It was a life-threatening condition, and he had two brain surgeries at the age of 4 and another surgery the following year, all done by the world-renowned New York doctor, Dr. Alex Berenstein, who developed the procedure for repairing AV fistulas in children. Ben was declared cured and has grown into a fine young man who excels academically, plays sports, plays percussion in his school’s concert band, and volunteers in his community.

I’ve been blessed to spend a lot of time with him lately. At a recent football game, his middle school concert band was invited to march on the football field with the high school marching band, and I made the trip over to see him on the field. (The middle schoolers all wore orange shirts.)

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This past weekend, the concert band had their Christmas performance.

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And then there was soccer. Ben’s team won runner-up in the regional tournament, and third place in the state championship. We sat in the cold rain this weekend to watch the state championship matches, and it was a challenge to keep my camera dry, but we had a wonderful time. (Ben is the tall player in the bright orange shoes.)

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As always, we are so proud of this young man and so grateful to everyone who has kept Ben in your thoughts and prayers.

#BenStrong #Soli Deo Gloria

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