Sleepy Samantha - a parent perspective

As I reflect upon the last year, I realize that Samantha's condition of Growth Hormone Deficiency has become both "normalized" in her life and at the same time affects her life daily in ways I do and do not fully understand.

Samantha has needed more sleep over the last few months than ever before.  I think it is due to her body working incredibly hard to grow and is worn out by the end of the afternoon.  By 5-6pm Samantha has little energy left and that is the same time when she finishes her homework after soccer practices and games which are 4x per week during soccer season.  When studying for finals just 2 weeks ago, I found Samantha on many nights asleep in bed with her computer on her lap well before her usual bedtime. It is not uncommon for children 12-13 years old to go to bed at 9 or even 10pm.  From the time she arrives home at 6-7pm to the time she goes to bed is spent studying or completing homework assignments.  Generally she is in bed by 9pm; however the ideal time would be an hour prior. What 12/13 year old goes to bed at 8pm?  Samantha (when she can.)

How do you choose between studying for exams and going to sleep because your body cannot sustain another moment of being awake?  By the time finals came around I decided that it was more important for Samantha to sleep than to continue studying with a brain which had little brain-power left.  Her bones and brain will thank me later for allowing her to receive now the sleep she desperately needs. Samantha grows when she sleeps; we all do. Samantha's body is working harder than the average teen to hopefully achieve the same result of what her natural physical height would be if her pituitary glad was functioning properly.

This past semester of 7th grade my heart sank when Samantha came home on a few occasions stating "I fell asleep on the bus ride home."  For Samantha, this was normal.  Her body was tired; she fell asleep. When asked how she knew to get off the bus at her stop she would tell me that her friends kept an eye on her and would wake her up if she dozed off for a few minutes on the ride home.

Middle school is a time where being "part of the group" is something teens seek to attain.  Although Samantha certainly wants to be accepted and liked just as anyone else would, she isn't afraid to be herself even if that happens to be different from her peers.  Samantha is a loving and incredibly caring and devoted person to her family and friends. Contrary to what I had expected, Samantha's friends don't make insensitive comments about her treatment - her close friends know all about it and that this is her reality.  What is incredibly heart-warming is that her friends don't say a negative word to her about her condition.  She is just like any other kid who happens to take daily injections of medication to treat a condition from which only 1 in 3,800 children suffer from in the United States. How wonderful.

As her mother I am saddened that Samantha needs to take medication which can only be administered by injection.  It hurts to be pricked by a needle every single night to self-inject medication into her body for a year and a half (and counting.)  Do we really know every single very rare side effect of the medication and the consequences which would follow? No. What we do know is that the medication has been studied and used for decades and that countless children and teens have greatly benefited from it if they are candidates without negative long-term side effects.

I am simultaneously incredibly thankful and appreciative that her father and I can provide Samantha with the gift of growth which would otherwise not be an option for her had we not been determined to offer her every opportunity to become the height she would be but-for having growth hormone deficiency.

We all suffer from challenges in our lives.  Those who prevail are ones who utilize them as opportunities for understanding more about themselves and learning how to grow from these experiences. Samantha sees her cup as half-full; never half-empty.

Samantha, I love you and admire you.  Keep up the amazing work you are doing to raise awareness about Growth Hormone Deficiency and celebrating the differences in others!

Social Media

Hey guys,

Now I have finally gotten Instagram! I have written maybe 3 or 4 posts of me wanting to have Instagram and my mom not letting me sign up for it. About 2 months ago I convinced my mom I was responsible to have a social media account. 

I make sure that I only accept friend requests from people I know from school or from family and friends. If I don't know them I do not allow them to follow me.   My mom and I look through my account together and I show her the photos I post. I am glad that my mom and I look at my account and talk about the good and bad things about social media.

Funny story: my mom's friend has an Instagram account and he requested to follow me.  Since I did not recognize his screen name I declined the invitation.  When I got home my mom told me he wanted to follow me and I  told her that I did not recognize his name so I declined. My mom said, "good job" because I it is always better to be safe so that you do not allow people to follow you who you don't know. Now that I know the person is my mom's friend, I accepted his friend request.

Instagram is a fun way to follow your friends and see what they are doing, but it doesn't take the place of hanging out and spending time with one another.  Remember: limit your screen-time! :-)

It's Hanukkah Time!

I am a young Jewish girl and I celebrate Hanukkah.  At Hanukkah, families gather together for an eight-day celebration to commemorate the re-dedication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.  Although it is not the most important Jewish holiday, it is one of the most well-known ones because of the traditional fried foods, games and our Menorah.

So far there have been 3 nights of Hanukkah.  On the first night I received a Six-Flags Magic Mountain yearly pass and on the second night my mom gave me a really cozy robe.  Tonight I got a "Bare Minerals Wish List" eye-shadow palette which is something I really wanted!

Hanukkah means a lot to me.  I know I am too mature to just think about only the presents on Hanukkah.  I think that Hanukkah is a celebration of freedom.  This holiday means I am a free Jewish girl.  The word Hanukkah means dedication.  I am dedicated to staying free.

I am very proud to be Jewish.  Even though I go to a Catholic school, I still love my religion and make it meaningful in my life.  I sing at my temple all the time, I go to all Shabbat services and Jewish youth group activities. All I know and feel is that I am proud to be a Jew and that is all I care about.

Happy Holidays to You All!

-Seriously Samantha

My Life is the Best it Could Be

On Sunday it will be 365 days of me taking Growth Hormone Therapy. I feel like I have changed so much in the last year and changed other people's lives as well. I have showed people who I truly am from the very beginning of taking Growth Hormone Therapy; and now, a year later, I see myself as a whole different person.

I have to say it has been such a long journey for me and my family. I have not gotten this far without my friends and family. The main person I would like to thank is my endocrinologist, Dr. Lavin. My mom has become more brave because she is always there to support me while I take my shots, and when I don't feel like doing it myself she gives them to me.  She was scared in the beginning and now she does it so easily. My dad has also been a big part of my journey this year by taking me to my blood tests and my bone age x-rays. The best of all has been my brother.  When I take my shots he says nothing except "WOW", which I love.

I feel really lucky to have such great support.

New Supplies For School

Hey guys,

I am so sorry I have not been blogging in so long so from now on I am going to be posting every day. Well, I am going to do my best to post every day - I might miss a day now and then.

Before I go back to school I want a couple of things: I want a really cute backpack, an iPhone case, cute folders and binders, nice pens and pencils, really cute pencil cases, a new uniform and shoes. In order to be able to get the things I want I have to: work on improving my math every day, study 10 minutes of Hebrew for my Bat-Mitzvah in January, write a blog, and read 10 pages of my summer book reading. I think I will get all the things I want and need, but first I have to do what I promised to do and get moving!

I am just a regular, ordinary kid like you and I will show you this summer how much we have in common.

Check back with me on my blog so you can see photos of me at my one year anniversary of growth hormone therapy on July 3, 2016!

Purple Needles?!?!

Last week my mom ordered new needles for my medication. They're purple, they're short, and they hurt.

My mom told the lady on the phone when she ordered my medication to make sure that the needles she sent were very small so they wouldn't hurt me as much as the ones I had. I thought that was very sweet of her, but it turned out that these needles hurt more than the bigger ones!

Next week my mom will be ordering more medication for me with a new box of needles. She promised to order the bigger needles - I know it sounds strange, but it's true. The longer ones don't hurt as much as the shorter and thinner ones.

Moms and Dads: If you have kids with Growth Hormone Deficiency, don't order the smaller and shorter needles even if they are purple. The only thing I like about them is their color, and that is just not good enough of a reason to use them.

New Hair Cut

"Dear dumb diary"...
Ha ha ha... it's me, Samantha!

Today I got a haircut. OMG my hair is so much shorter now. It used to be really long, but I love brushing my hair much more now that it is shorter.  

The guy who cuts my hair said my hair was so beautiful, and then he cut 5 inches off - that's crazy! I mean, I saw all of my hair by the end of a haircut on the floor, and trust me, it was long enough to make a really long beard.

I had a photo shoot a couple months ago and we just were sent my pictures. I can't wait to write a blog this weekend showing you what I look like. I really hope you guys like it. Bye!

Art Camp Junior Counselor Interview - I was accepted!

I had a meeting yesterday to be a junior counselor at an art camp and I got the job!

I feel so happy that I actually can help kids be who they are and show them that I'm there for them whenever they need my help. The camp is an art camp where we will do different kinds of art: performing art, cooking, acrylic painting, watercolor, magic, cartooning and so much more.

I'm so excited to actually be working and helping young kids at the summer camp I used to go to as a young kid myself.

Cheerleading Tryouts Round 2 Update!

I really want to be on the cheer team because it means everything to me right now.  It is a chance of a lifetime and I feel like I am brave enough and I am the right girl for it.  If I don't get on the cheer team, I will be sad and know it is not the end of the world.  I also know "there is always next year!"  If I don't get on next year, "this girl" will try out cheer in high school until I make make the team!!!

There is a new girl in our cheer group who is trying out.  She is very small.  My friend used to be the smallest, now the new girl is even smaller!  My friend said "I miss being small, I was the smallest!"  I used to be one of the smallest, now I am not even close to the shortest girl trying out for cheer this year.

I think I want to stop growth hormone therapy shots in a year. For me, I feel like it is time to start something new.  I have been doing this for a long time, and growing is awesome; but being who I am is important too.  Whatever height I am going to be, I will appreciate being that height. My mom says that I should not stop the growth hormone therapy until I stop growing which means that I probably will be taking shots for another 2 years.

The one good thing about growth hormone deficiency is that maybe it is making me not go through puberty yet.  My doctors say that is not the reason why; but I think so.

My First Pimple!

Tonight I got my first pimple on my face.

My mom helped me clean my face and put medicine on it so it will go away by tomorrow.

It looks disturbing.  There is a huge red mark on my face, well, that's what it feels like to me. My mom says it is so small she can barely see it.

I really don't want it to come back because when one pimple comes, another one comes, and then another one .... and then I will SCREAM!

I think this is the start of puberty for me. I am not nervous about it, well, I kind of am.

Trying out for Cheer... Again

Well, next week is 7th grade Cheer Team Tryouts.

I am really nervous. I tried out last year and I did not get on the team.  When I did not see my name on the list in the fall I felt disappointed.  Maybe I did not try hard enough?  This year will be different.

I will try my hardest, I will put all my effort into it, and when I see my name on that list, I will be so proud of myself.

If I don't see my name on the list, sure, I will be disappointed again.  However I know that whatever happens it does not change who I am inside and that maybe this is not the time for me to be on the cheer team.  There is always something else to experience.

Weekend Away From Home

Samantha spent the weekend performing with her singing group from school and having fun with her classmates and friends at both Universals Studio and Disneyland. This was also the first weekend Samantha has been away from home and being entirely responsible for ensuring she had taken her nightly shots.

"Is it really terrible if she misses a shot?" I was asked today after expressing my concern that Samantha may not have followed through with her daily regimen. No, it's not a catastrophe if she misses her shot once every so often; however the body needs a regular amount of growth hormones in it to be available for use by the body.

Samantha was terrific. She made sure that there was a refrigerator in her hotel room she shared with her friends so that she could refrigerate her medication and freeze the ice packs for her medicine. The growth hormone treatment medication must be refrigerated at all times otherwise it is be unusable. Samantha packed her medication, needles, and alcohol wipes in a traditional lunchbox cooler with ice packs. She returned with the used needles so that we can safely dispose of them along with an empty pen of medication.

Samantha ran out of medicine last night and didn't receive her full dose. Although I was surprised that she didn't inform me of such earlier in the day upon her return, I was glad that she didn't have any issues with being without her mom when her medication dispenser was empty. There isn't anything that she could have done differently. I realized when I helped her pack her pen with medication that it was possible she could run out, and I intentionally didn't provide her with a new pen filled with medication because I was unsure whether she would forget it in the refrigerator. I'd rather have 1/4 medication left at a hotel than 1.5 weeks worth. I'm pleasantly surprised at how mature she handled the situations she was faced with: 1) taking her medication without her parents wth her 2) showing her friends who were interested how she administers her own shots, 3) being responsible for the transportation of medication which needs special handling, and 4) not missing her 2 doses, even though she was exhausted after running around all day with her friends and having a great time.

Samantha is a bright and conscientious young lady. She accepts the opportunity for increased responsibility and also knows what she is capable of and what she needs assistance with - for the age of 12 she is incredibly self-aware.

I'm extremely proud of Samantha; and today she added to the list of things she continues to learn: accountability and responsibility.  She can and should be afforded the opportunity to make age-level choices, and she has shown us she is responsible and capable of doing so.

Too little or too big? 275 days

Today marks 275 days of Samantha taking growth hormone therapy, and what a journey it has been. We have a long way to go, probably about 2-3 more years, however I don't feel we could have made it this long without the support of family, friends, and those who read Samantha's blog and offer her encouragement, praise, and ask how she is doing when they see her.

This weekend Samantha struggled, once again, with what to wear for a simple Saturday and Sunday evening out with friends and family.

When you have grown 4 inches in 14 months you forget that your clothes which fit you a few months ago are too tight, too short, or just feel small. It's not a pleasant feeling at any age, especially at 12.

As a mother of a "tween" daughter the last thing I want to say is "that shirt looks too small" or "you may want to put on something more flattering", especially when I can't keep up with purchasing her clothes which fit her. There is no more "I can buy this now and in 3 months she will grow into it."
We have no idea what size she will be in a month or 2 from now and that is both in height and weight.  What may look fine now may not be ideal in a month due to her body growing at a different pace and at a rate we cannot predict. One day she may not even respond to the medication she is taking and that will be the end of her treatment. Only time will tell.

Samantha has always been a thin child; and after taking growth hormone therapy for over 9 months she has started to become slightly more muscular in her build. This is expected because of what growth hormone therapy does, it increases muscle mass along with lengthening the bones. Samantha began as a petite and small-framed girl to a slightly talker and more athletic looking girl in a short period of time; and this transformation is at times scary for her especially because this is at the exact same time she already feels awkward!

Tonight Samantha, after her account about how stressed out she is with school, a month long reasearch project she has just been assigned (among other things) and told me that she doesn't like taking growth hormone therapy. She doesn't like having multiple bruises on her stomach where she gives herself her injections of medication. She showed me one bruise from a few days ago where she didn't quite administer the shot with necessary ease and blood seeped through the inner layers of her skin causing a nice size bruise (abut the size of nickel.) Who would? It happens ... and it's part of taking shots and being 12. I told her tonight I would give her a dosage of medication in her arm so that her stomach could get a bit of a rest. She agreed.

I am fortunate to have the most amazing cousin the world who took Samantha shopping yesterday while I was at work and found a few items for her. Samantha was over the moon and can't wait for the weekend so she can wear it.

I feel what she feels; however in a different way. I was the 3rd tallest girl in my class for all of middle school. I hated it. All I wanted to be was shorter. I had daydreams in middle and high school that my ideal height was 5'4" (which is hopefully what Samantha will be with her treatment. Without it she would not hit 5'). I was envious of them for not towering over the boys, and then look what happened: I married a man who is my height (on a good day) and probably had growth hormone deficiency himself. As my pediatrican told me long ago "if you wanted tall children you should have married a basketball player."

I've told Samantha of my experience of feeling awkward by being too tall and that my mom gave me terrible hair cuts and permed my hair at age 9 (yes age 9) which I hated, and will continue to tell her about the ups and downs of my experience of being a teen. We live in a society where we focus more on the visual characterizes of others instead of the internal ones which are the ones which truly matter. What Samantha doesn't realize is that she is one heck of a 12-year old young lady. She can be small or tall and anywhere in between and no matter her height she is larger than life and lights up a room with her smile and positive attitude.

After Samantha spent time talking to me about her being stressed out about sdhool, finals (in 8
Weeks), her upcoming weekend music festival with her school, and how anxious she is about juggling homework and a month-long research assignment I told her "you WILL get it all done with planning and sticking to your plan."

I believe her feelings about how she is growing are more related to being a12 year old girl instead of due to her hormone therapy treatment (which is speeding up the process of growing in height and weight and not increasing the onset of adolescence). She is used to being a petite person and now she is starting to look like a regular-sized girl. Change is hard - even when it is a positive one.

My goal is to celebrate Samantha and have her realize to be proud of who she is in her own skin: whether or not she is too small or too big for her liking on any given day.

I hope and pray I am providing her the love and support she needs. She is such a precious gift and I don't want anything to crush her amazing and overall positive spirit and drive to be the best Samantha she can be.

12 year checkup

Yesterday Samantha visited her pediatrician for her annual physical. It was such a different experience than going to the endocrinologist who she visits once every two months. There weren't any shots nor blood drawn - a welcomed surprise!

Sam's growth hormone therapy treatment will hopefully continue for another 3-4 years. I can't imagine her doing this for such a long time. Girls grow until about a year and a half after they have their first menstrual cycle, which means it's a race to have girls who have growth hormone deficiency grow as much as possible before that event comes their way. Boys have a larger window of time to grow before their bones fuse. Once a person's bones fuse that is the end of his or her growth in height. It is so important to have a child diagnosed as soon as possible so that the child can have the maximum benefit from taking growth hormone therapy. 

Samantha grew 4.5 inches in 14 months, and 6 months of that time frame she grew a bit without growth hormone therapy. I can't believe it. Her pediatrician and endocrinologist are so pleased. I feel more confident Sam will surpass 5' and hopefully even reach her projected height of 5'3" prior to us knowing she had Growth Hormone Deficiency.

Today we received great news. Samantha continues to grow and is developing in the way the average girl her age should - what a wonderful and precious gift.

School Blues

A few weeks ago I felt like I was not doing as well in school as I had been doing and wanted to do better.  I felt I was having a very hard time and I did not know why. I spoke with my mom over and over about how I was feeling and afterwards talked with my teachers. I am so glad I did, they completely understood that some days are harder than others and helped me figure out ways to "work though it."

The last 2 weeks were not easy, but all my hard work paid off.  Instead of worrying about my classes and all the homework I have, that if I take the time to do my work that it really is not as hard as I think it will be.  I was so happy to see my grades went up just with a change of attitude and remembering not to stress out too much.

I have been wanting a new iPhone case, and because I did so well on my tests this week she said she would buy one for me.  I picked one on Amazon and although my mom did not like the style we ordered it.  I think will come on Friday. I am so happy!

Day to Day

I spoke with Samantha today about posting on her blog since it has been a couple weeks since her last post. She said "I have school, homework, art class and now I have to study Hebrew for my bat-mitzvah."  She feels overwhelmed by the many demands our 12 year old (and middle-schoolers) children have, and frankly I don't blame her.

Samantha has begun the traditional "tween" time of wanting to be a kid and also longing to be a teenager at the same time. She knows there are more responsibilities and demands, and welcomes them, however she also knows that with responsibility comes the maturity to be able to handle it.

It's been almost 240 days of Samantha taking daily shots, and she is still such a trooper. She doesn't complain often about her day to day routine as it has become part of her life. I deeply admire her sense of self and "just power through it" attitude, for it is still difficult for me to watch her every night take her daily dosage of HGH.

As a parent, it's heartbreaking for me to see her give herself shots. What is worse is the feeling I have when she wants me to give the shots to her because her stomach has too many small bruises from self-administering her medication. Needles make marks and at times bruises no matter how good one is at administering shots. When that occurs I tell her to give her stomach a break and I give the shot to her in the arm so her bruises have a chance to heal. They heal within a few days, however if you think about administering one shot per night, at the end of one week you have a child with up to 7 bruises, all healing at different times.

Yesterday was a rough day: I had spent 30 minutes arguing with the specialty medication company which provides us her shots explaining my utter frustration that HGH is a necessary medication for Samamtha. "My kid can't grow the way she is supposed to without this medicine. I don't think you understand. This is not for vanity. This is for her to reach a normal adult height. She won't grow without it."

In an upcoming blog I will continue describing the discussion I had about the cost of this medication and how tragic it is that those whose insurance carriers don't cover it (or refuse) that it is cost-prohibitive for virtually the entire population.

Samantha is steadily growing which is in stark contrast to where she was a year ago. She will unlikely make it to where she "should be" if her pituitary gland was working as it should; however if she can keep the pace she is on now for another 2 years she will get pretty close.

222 Days of Growth Hormone Therapy

It has been 222 days for me that I have been taking growth hormone therapy shots and this has changed everything in my life. I am so proud of myself.

Some people can make fun of me and I don't like it.  Others ask me "is it worth it to sake shots?" Well, the answer is clearly YES, it is totally worth it.

Sometimes I feel a little left out but I know that all of the medication I take does not hurt me, it helps me which is why I have been taking it for 222 days.  I think I have grown about 3 inches in 6 months and I feel taller now. My doctor is so proud of me and says my growth progress is amazing.

Today I needed to take another blood test.  I take them every two months to see whether there is enough growth hormone medication in my body and if I need to increase the dose of my medication.  I don't like going to take my blood tests and also know that it's really important so my doctor knows I am doing okay on the medication.

I have been told that I have inspired and changed so many people's lives who have read my blog.  I am so grateful to them because that inspires me to keep writing and keep fighting.

Another Inch!

We rushed to her endocrinologist appointment at the end of the day, fearing there was not enough time to be seen by her doctor.  Thankfully he waited for her arrival.

She grew - another inch.  A miracle.

Samantha sees her doctor who is tracking her progress and prescribing her growth hormone therapy every two months.  At these visits her height and weight is tracked, along with determining whether her medication needs to be increased.  Samantha doesn't mind visiting her doctor; in fact, it becomes a comedy show from the time she arrives to the moment she leaves.  The staff and her doctor all enjoy speaking with her about school, her newest art painting, and they always ask about her blog.

I am always nervous when we visit her doctor; for I hope that Samantha's body is positively responding to the medication, that there are no negative side effects to taking it upon her, and I pray that she continues to have as much time as possible to take the medication.

No one knows how long a person needs to take growth hormone therapy; it depends on a variety of factors: whether one's body responds (and continues to respond) to growth hormone treatment, the onset of puberty (which closes the door to the natural end to growing in height), and finally the "bone age" of a person (vs one's chronological age). Those who have a young bone-age will have more time to grow.  Those who have that of his/her chronological age usually mirror the curve doctors plot one's progress in growth, and those with an older bone-age will grow for a shorter period of time because the bones only have so much room within the "growth plates" to grow.

The unknown is very challenging:
What is her expected height?
How much longer will she take this medication?
What are all the long term effects?
Will she continue to grow at the pace she has?

I don't know.

Samantha is doing amazingly well in so many ways; however what people don't know is that growth hormone treatment can stop working at ANY MINUTE, without warning, and without any explanation.

Despite the many unknowns about the path we are traveling down; I am inspired by Samantha and her outlook on taking this opportunity and creating much confidence in herself and impacting her community.  All you have to do is read her blogs from when she first began "Seriously Samantha" to know that she is a better person for having this experience, as are we all in our family.

Ouch . . .Mom Forgot to "Prime"

It was a night just like any other night . . . however this one ended with a bit of blood and a few tears.

Samantha was exhausted right before bed, and instead of giving herself her own shot she asked me to give her it in her arm.  I removed the "pen" which contains her medication in it from the refrigerator, as I always do when assisting her with her shots, wiped the top of the dispenser with an alcohol wipe, and twisted on the needle.  I dialed the dosage on the bottom of the pen; again, just as one is supposed to do so that the appropriate amount of medication is given when the shot is administered.  I wiped Samantha's arm with an alcohol wipe to ensure the area was clean and thereafter pushed the button on the pen for the medication to be released.

"OUCH" Samantha yelled.  We looked at her arm as a few drops of blood fell down the side of her arm. I then remembered the one step I forgot to complete . . .

Before using a new pen of medication one needs to "prime" it; which entails ensuring that any air where the medication is contained has been removed.  There is a specific process involved in completing such, and thus far I have remembered this step each time Samantha has needed to use a new pen of medication.  What I forgot was that the night before when I realized she had used all the medication in the pen I had Samantha place the used pen in her biohazard box and I placed a new pen filled with medication in the bag she uses to store her pen in the refrigerator WITHOUT priming it first.

The result: the first shot Samantha received was filled with air.  Placing air underneath one's skin using a needle hurts and results in a tad of bleeding.  What is interesting is that when Samantha takes her medication nightly, she rarely bleeds; however her skin bruises every single time she has an injection of medication.  It takes several days for the bruise, the size is slightly smaller than a dime, to disappear.  Even 200+ days later I shutter seeing her upper arms and stomach with tiny circles of bruises of various colors on her skin.

Samantha shed a couple tears; not many.  I shed them for her.

We Made it to 200 Days

We made it to 200 days. I say "we" because Samantha has fortunately had the incredible support of her family and friends, and there was a time when I wasn't sure whether we would.

Before Samantha began growth hormone therapy we had some inquiries from both family and close friends asking us "are you sure you want to have her take medication which you don't know if it will even work or the long term side effects (because the medication has only been approved by the FDA for 15 years.) Although concerned we may not have support from some; we forged ahead because we were confident, as Samantha was, that this was best for her.

Luckily, our friends and family, no matter their personal feelings, supported our decision and Samantha. I only hope those who may have disagreed with our decision never have to be in the shoes we are; for such decisions are far from easy to make. I'm thankful we made this choice and haven't looked back.

Samantha has gained self confidence and drive as a result of this experience, and what she has learned about herself is immeasurable. Her "never give up" attitude has increased her desire to move forward despite any challenge which may come her way.  These life experiences are critical to her emotional and cognitive development, and I'm incredibly proud of how she has taken growth hormone deficiency "by storm".

Look out, Samantha is just getting started...

200 Days!!!

Today is my 200th day of taking growth hormone shots.

If you think about it, it is a really big number.

I am very proud of myself for getting through all of this so far. I feel brave. I feel like no one in this world has the confidence like I do; but I know many other people have this same type of confidence which helps them get through difficult times.

Lately I have told people I take growth hormone shots. People say "OMG: how many days have you taken them for? Does it hurt? Is there blood?" I reply yes to all the answers, well, except to the hurting one - it doesn't hurt that much anymore.

Every day is getting easier for me and my parents because I feel like my parents don't have to worry about me taking my shots anymore. Today I even "primed" my first pen, which by the way is a really big deal! I was able to make sure all the bubbles were out of the pen where the medication is stored in the shots I take. I did this by myself without my mom's help. My dad watched me to make sure I did it properly. I was very excited that I had the opportunity on my 200th day.

Maybe I will keep taking these shots until I am around 15. I don't know. It depends, I will take them until I stop growing and we don't know when that will be. Sometimes I get lazy and tired and don't want to take the shots anymore; but I know these shots help me grow.

I think I can make it to 1000 days because I am strong, smart, kind-hearted, loving, dedicated, and, well, small!

Remember: amazing things come in small packages!