17 years old!

Ricky with my mom tonight.

So here is my yearly "OMG Ricky is another year older" post.  This year he is 17 years old.  I am not sure just how that happened, but there it is.  He is now about 130 lb and a solid 6 feet tall, having grown a half a foot (at least) this year.  Not bad for a kid with cystic fibrosis!

Every year I refer back to these posts from 1995 (read from the bottom, up) about Ricky's birth and the days preceding it and following it.  Those days seem farther and farther away with each year, and yet I find it so hard to forget them.

Healthwise, Ricky is doing pretty well.  His lung function is the best it has been in many years (!).  He is fairly compliant with his treatments and medications.  His attendance in school is not fabulous, but he's doing what he can and always goes to school cheerfully.  Ricky still sees a number of specialists on a regular basis, and that's not going to change.  Issues recently have included reflux, necessitating a change of medication, and increased chronic sinusitis issues.  He had a sinus CT scan last week and we'll find out in late December what the verdict is on that.

He is very much into computers and video games, including the website ROBLOX and his Nintendo 3DS (faithfully hanging in its bag from his shoulders almost all the time!).  If you give him the chance he will tell you enthusiastically about these things and a few other fascinating, in his opinion, subjects.  :)

Onward to 18!