Tuesday, July 28th

Hello to everyone. Thought I might drop a brief line to update. Clay is doing therapy daily at the North Texas Rehab Hospital. We all took a few days off and traveled to Happy Convention this past weekend. Clay was quite the celebrity. The gracious friends around the convention built a cool room for Clay to sit in so we were able to attend every meeting. Thank you. Clay played and had time to ride the swing sets late in the day when it cooled off. We were happy to see many of our friends and made and met some new ones. Monday of this week was back to routine therapy. We have a company in town that manufactures Hyperbaric chambers. The owners offered to let Clay use their equipment for oxygen treatment. We went down Monday afternoon and toured their facility and all three of the boys were allowed to get in one of the treatment units. Clay has his first treatment this morning and was excited about it. Thursday of this week it is back to Dallas. We have burn clinic and all of the burn doctors will determine when and where to schedule the next surgery for releases. Clay has an appointment Monday with the plastic surgeons at Children's Hospital in Dallas. They will be looking at hands, head, ears , neck and head. He seems to be getting stronger each day and continues to eat well. He is willing to try about anything and has a good spirit most of the time. We hope everyone is having a good summer and are thankful for all of the support Clay is still receiving. Take Care. The Fites

Wednesday, July 15th

Good Morning. Sorry about the long delay between post. There are a lot of activities around here, most of them revolving around Clay. We went to burn clinic last Thursday in Dallas at Parkland. Doctor Arnoldo said that Clay is healing but he expects to schedule the first surgery with in the next 3 to 4 weeks. We will go back for another burn clinic visit on July the 30th. Clay had a surprise last Thursday in therapy. The nice folks in the Physical Therapy unit had baked him some cupcakes and he had a surprise early birthday. It was thoughtful of them and he shared his cupcakes with everyone. The rehab doctor wrote us orders for an evaluation at the North Texas Rehabilitation Hospital in Wichita Falls. We went Monday and they accepted Clay and he has therapy there every day this week. It is wonderful having everyone home. Deidra and the boys take him up for his appointments and there are always errands to run in Wichita. We try to help with additional exercises and stretching at home. Clay turned 6 years old Sunday. He wants to thank everyone for the cards and gifts. I am afraid he is going to be spoiled rotten. We had a little party that grew into a large gathering. We had all of his friends from meeting, plus several of his friends from town, and several family members and cousins. He had a good time and needed no help opening gifts or eating birthday cake. Our schedule is pretty hectic but we welcome visitors anytime. Our annual church convention is next week in Happy, TX and thanks to Clay's progress and the help of the friends we are excited about attending. There have been people that indicated they gave blood for Clay in different parts of the country. We are sure we have not been able to properly thank everyone everywhere but we are grateful to all and want to let you know your gifts, thoughts, and prayers are appreciated. Deidra had an opportunity to visit with Kermit's grandmother yesterday. Apparently he has had a tough time since his release from the burn unit in Dallas. He had to go back into the hospital in Austin for some open wounds and has already had a couple of surgical procedures. He was going back in today for some work on one of his shoulders. We know many of you prayed for Kermit and it appears he needs them now as much as ever. Clay has a remarkable spirit and has been teaching his Mom and Dad how to act in some difficult situations. He is a resilient little boy who is really missing his usual outside activities. He tells people that this summer he has a hospital tan. We will try to update more frequently. Thanks to everyone I hope it's raining and cool wherever you are.

Monday, July 6th

Hello to all. I hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th. We enjoyed the extra day at home with the boys. Clay had a good holiday. He tried to eat as much as possible and nothing was off limits for him. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, nachos, cookies, corn, eggs, pancakes, fruit, the list could go on for days. Clay arrived home Thursday and was able to attend Carson's last baseball game of the season. He was allowed to sit in the dug out and sampled one of everything from the concession stand. He was happy to take part and he and Cody had a good time at the ballpark. We went to a cookout Friday and he fared very well there. He is the center of attention and seems to like all of it. There were some fireworks after dinner and he was allowed to sit in a recliner to better look up and enjoy the show. We had some family drive down from Amarillo Saturday and Clay visited with everyone. Sunday we had meeting and a big potluck which Clay thought was perfect. This morning Deidra, Carson , Cody , and Clay left before 6:00 to arrive at Parkland before 9:00 for his first appointment with Occupational Therapy. I know he will work hard. We are amazed at his can do attitude and are starting to realize there is still a little boy with Clay's spirit that has been kept under wraps for 4 months. He told his mother he thought he might be a fireman when he grew up but he sure didn't want to be burned again. He is scheduled back into burn clinic Thursday. All of the doctors will have a look and we will decide what the next step is. This Sunday Clay will have his 6th birthday. What a difference a year can make. Thanks to all.

Monday, June 29th

Good Morning to all. Clay had a busy weekend at home in Olney. He arrived Friday afternoon and was happy to be home. He had several things he wanted to show off. He had a new purple cast on his right hand, he has quickly learned that it is a club and he used it in our wrestling matches. We stayed around the house most of the day Saturday trying to avoid the heat. My grandfather had his 86th birthday Saturday night and we went to Seymour for the celebration. They had BBQ and Clay ate about 10 pounds. We did not stay long, but when we returned home and Clay was getting ready for bed he needed a little more sausage before he could say goodnight. He enjoyed his brothers and cannot understand why he cannot go outside whenever the urge strikes him. Sunday we went to meeting and had a pot luck lunch after. There are several younger girls there and they waited on Clay hand and foot. He was the king and they were a group of mother hens. He enjoyed playing with all of his meeting friends and it was good to be back with them after a long absence. He and Mom will head back to Dallas around noon today. Clay has a 3:00 OT appointment. Cody and Lizzie Smith are going to help Clay and Deidra while Carson and I stay in Olney. Carson will head to Electra tonight for his first tournament game. Clay has good moments and bad just like everyone but, he is getting stronger by the day. We will continue with therapies at Parkland for a couple more weeks and then we plan to move to the North Texas Rehab and continue the work closer to home. Hope everyone is having a good summer we appreciate every one's concerns and continued prayers.

Wednesday, June 24th

Good Morning. I have had several request for an update. Clay and Deidra are back in Dallas all week for outpatient therapy. DeeDee's aunt Lorna Powell is staying with them. It is a big help to have someone to drop them off and help watch Clay because we are not comfortable with him out of our sight. He is doing a combination of physical and occupational therapy. It is all hard work but I hope he realizes it is for his benefit in the long run. They are doing a series of cast on his right hand. The grafts on this hand are contracting and this is pulling the fingers up. The cast are working the skin down so he can eventually make a fist with his right hand. With the right hand in a cast and not much use of his left he is hard pressed to do much without help. One thing he has been doing a lot of lately is eating. Apparently he is trying to make up for four months worth of missed meals. He eats about every thirty minutes and seems like he needs snacks in between. We are happy to see this appetite and try to accommodate all request. We have contacted the North Texas Rehab Hospital in Wichita Falls. We would like to get a portion of his therapy done in Wichita because he could stay at home and make the short trip back and forth easily. We will still go into Parkland for burn clinic and consultations on his therapy. Cody is in South Texas at his grandparents and is scheduled to return at the end of the week. Carson spent the first two days of the week with Clay in Dallas but is back in Olney to prepare for the Little League All Star Tournament. Having Clay at home all weekend spoiled us all. He and Mom were not ready to go back to Dallas and I was not ready for them to leave. Hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer. Take Care.

Friday, June 19th Home

Clay made a triumphant return home today thanks to the many kind hearts in our hometown. He was met out side of town by three fire trucks and two ambulances. With lights flashing in front and behind he was trying to grin from ear to ear. As he sat in my lap, he was wiggling with excitement when the lead truck started their sirens and blew their horn to signal our approach. There seemed to be half the town lining main street as we pulled in. There were signs, balloons and many smiles. Clay's right hand is in a cast, and seems to be out of commission for a while, but he tried to give everyone a wave with what is left of his left. I was a little concerned in the passenger seat because Deidra was driving and I know her vision was blurred by all of the tears. We are so grateful to our community for all they have done. We have all heard that there is no place like home and the Fites agree. Thank you to the firemen and EM Ts that took the time to see a little boy home. Thank you to everyone that came out to wave encouragement for the future. Thank you to everyone at Hamilton Hospital that helped Clay when he was first brought in. Thank you Channel 3 for keeping everyone updated. The list could go on for days, and I am sure to have left someone out. Thank you to our friends, neighbors, and coworkers who have been so gracious. Thank you to Tower Extrusions for standing with us through this trying time. Thanks to Olney. Thank you to all the friends and workers across the country and around the world. Most of all thanks to God for seeing Clay safely back home where we can love and heal and help him grow into a young man. We will be posting a couple of times each week now and whenever something noteworthy happens. We appreciate everyone who was faithful in prayers and comments on the blog. Good night from Olney, Texas

Thursday, June 18th

Hello to all. Clay had an early morning PT appointment. He worked with the balance board and stretched. He was then allowed to do some type of therapy with the Wii. He went back for his occupational therapy and they worked him pretty hard. The remainder of the day was spent hanging around the Ronald McDonald House. This afternoon when they were cooking dinner he was in the playroom down the hall from the kitchen. When the smell of the dinner cooking made its way down to the play room, Clay said he was starving and took off out of the play room toward the kitchen. He got to the door and started down the hall and turned to his Mom and said, "Let's go, I am following my nose." Tomorrow marks 126 days since he left Olney on the helicopter. We are anxiously awaiting his return tomorrow afternoon around 5:00. What a wonderful day. I am sure he is excited by the prospect but he cannot be any more happy than the rest of his family. We are so thankful that God brought him back into our home. It was touch and go at times, but as scared as we were we always looked toward his return. He is going to face many trials and we can already see some frustration but his spirit and his family will help him get back in the swing of things. We have toyed with the idea of posting a recent photo of Clay on the site. We have sent a few to his friends to help them prepare. Please let us know what you think of this idea. We ask you to realize that Clay is a work in progress. We are eternally grateful to everyone that has helped during this time. We will post tomorrow after his return and then we plan to reduce the number of post to 2 or 3 times a week depending on noteworthy news. Once again thank you and good night.