It was another great year down at State. We made some new memories and watched Micah take all of our money. Gahanna lost in the semi-final game after knocking out the #1 team in the nation- Northland. We woke up to snow of Friday morning that was a surprise but it didn’t stop our tailgating activities. Micah did his thing on the grill and we ate so much food I almost get nauseous thinking about it. Javan was around on Thursday but headed off to Disney with the kids on Friday. I know they deserve a Disney vacation with all they have been through these past couple of months. We will be excited to have him; Mase and E back with us next year. This is definitely a huge highlight I look forward to every year.

Rebecca celebrated her birthday on the 20th and I flew her to Chicago for the weekend. We had dinner at Coco Pazzo’s an Italian restaurant on the west side of downtown. We had a full day of shopping on Sunday and spent the day with Rebecca’s cousin Abby. She took us to lunch and we had some Chicago-style pizza at Giordano’s on Rush Street. It was great to have a few days to ourselves and we loved getting to hang out and see Abby’s place. She was the best host and tour guide.

Well it is March and that means its time to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! We all got dressed up for our party. When we ere getting ready Katalina watched us paint our faces and she wanted paint on her face too. We were all decked out in our green and had a blast.

My brother Javan Conley and his wife Rebecca Conley have witnessed a miracle along with the rest of our family. Last month their second child Ethan contracted a muscle virus called viral mitosis and was in a battle for his life. From the time he entered the ER things progressively got worse. A normal CPK count in our body is anywhere from 30-150. Ethan at one point went into shock when his CPK levels topped 50,000. He was on dialysis, a feeding tube and a breathing machine to allow his body to have the maximum amount of energy to fight the virus. Doctors from around the world consulted on Ethan’s condition and at its most aggressive stage Ethan’s CPK levels topped out at 689,000- the highest level on record anywhere. After 33 days in the hospital (17 of those in ICU) he was released and is resting at home with a clean bill of health.
Many have not survived this virus especially with the levels that Ethan was recording. No one has survived this virus recording these high levels without some sort of long term brain damage, loss of limbs or severe muscle damage.
The doctors have told Javan and Rebecca; “medically Ethan should not be here with us today", “not only is it a miracle he has both legs right now, it is a miracle he is even alive". Ethan has been home for the last two or so weeks and is doing really well. This past Sunday was the families first week back to church where Ethan shared his testimony with many of us and the rest of you who have been praying for him. Thank you for all of your prayers- we love you all!