On December 3^rd, Ali had her feeding tube removed.  I haven’t posted anything because I wanted to say something to do it justice.  I wasn’t sure how to express how monumental this was for Ali and for our family.  I’ve given up, I don’t think words can do Ali justice this time.  There are no words to express how proud we are of her.  Not just for having her feeding tube removed but for travelling a road that most people never have to travel, for overcoming obstacles that she should never have had to overcome and for doing it all with a smile.

I think it must have been a little scary for Ali to hear that we were planning to remove her feeding tube.  To a child like Ali, a feeding tube is a part of her.  It’s scary to lose something that you depended on every day of your life.  Ali also understood how exciting and special it was and how proud she should be of her herself for overcoming so many obstacles and being at the point where she no longer needed to be tube fed.

So on December 3^rd, 2014, Ali woke up from surgery for the first time ever without a feeding tube of some sort.  She woke up smiling in true Ali style and hasn’t looked back.

I remember the day we put the G-tube in.  There were so many mixed emotions, just like there are now.  I felt like we failed her that day but I knew that we were saving her life.  Today I look back and I know without a doubt that we did the right thing.  I just can’t believe the journey is over.  It was a wild, scary, heartbreaking, rewarding ride.  We’ve truly never been prouder of Ali.