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Sam Gappa's Home Page 
Welcome to our Sam's Web Page. It has been provided to keep people updated about our big boy.
Journal
Sunday, January 23, 2011 12:46 AM CST Wow, it's been about 9 months since I've updated this website. Time flies by.
As it is now 2011, we hope everyone is well these days. Sam is 7 years old, he is in first grade, and his health continues to be good! As you can tell from the pictures, he looks great.
Sam will have to take medication everyday for the rest of his life; however, he is now taking the fewest amount of different medicines since first being diagnosed with cancer back in September 2004. His routine now consists of only one daily visit to the school nurse to take pills, and then he is free until evening. This is great for many reasons, but also great that it doesn't disrupt his school day.
Sam has also been playing a variety of sports: soccer, flag football, swimming, and tennis. He enjoys some more than others, and this has been good for him to gain some strength.
Sam's doctor's appointments have also reduced considerably, to about once per month. In terms of his oncology visits, it now occurs twice per year.
Since my last update, we have traveled a fair amount. The highlight of 2010 was Sam receiving a wish trip from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Sam's wish focused on space, so the Foundation granted him a wish to see a space shuttle launch live! In May 2010, we traveled to Florida to the Kennedy Space Center to watch the launch, have lunch with a former space shuttle astronaut, and tour the space center! We also spent a day at Disneyworld and SeaWorld! It was an incredible trip.
In December, we got to visit with Tisha Young (Sam's kidney donor) and her family. Tisha looks great and feels great, and we always enjoying spending time with her and her family. She and her family now live in New Mexico, and we cherish the limited time we get to spend with them.
Tami has been busy involved in a number of great causes: she is on the Board of Directors with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a member of the Family Advisory Board at Medical City Children's Hospital, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society at our church. I can't keep up with the schedule.
This past November, we traveled back to Stanford University for Sam's 2 year kidney biopsy, which is the final test of this type performed on his transplanted kidney. Overall, the results were good, and Sam has been officially released from Stanford's care and will remain in the care with his nephrologist in Dallas.
If this world did not have Legos, I don't know how Sam could survive. Legos have become the focal point in our house, and have become the preferred artwork exhibited on our shelves.
Life is good! God is great! We are extremely blessed and happy! We hope for the best for each of you!
Take care,
Jonathan
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Links: http://kidney.org National Kidney Foundation
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