We spent a wonderful morning enjoying breakfast with family and then went to the park to release balloons, remembering Graham. Several friends and family from around the country joined us by releasing balloons as well. I posted a few of their pictures as well. We continue to make significant progress with Graham's Foundation. I'll be sending out a more detailed update soon.
Our little miracle turns two today. It is hard to imagine that Reece and Graham were born two years ago. In some ways it seems like yesterday, but in more ways it seems that the journey has been much, much longer.
Reece has had so many developmental breakthroughs the past few months that Jenn and I have decided to no longer differentiate between her corrected and actual age. We recognize that she will have more of a challenge fighting germs and bugs for at least the next several years, so we continue to wash, wash, wash, which is probably a good habit anyway.
Jenn posted a bunch of pics from the fall including a visit to the pumpkin patch, celebrating halloween and enjoying the falling leaves as well as pics from her birthday party.
I visited my cousin, Diane (Schomp) Carderelli and her musical clan a couple of weeks ago and they were kind enough to lend me their musical talents to help me record a couple of my favorite songs:
Oh My Graham: vocals by Diane and me, lyrics by me and music by Diane with Diane on guitar
Bend: vocals, music and lyrics by me, Diane on guitar
Storyofmylife.com recently featured our story, Our Wish Was Simple, on their website. Looking back, it helps remind me of all I have to be thankful for in my life.
Jenn and Reece are back from Ohio and Beignet is back from spending the summer at her breeder in Northern California. I was fortunate to be able to spend much of my time in between trips with the girls in Ohio but it is nice to have all of us in one place...but we sure do miss all of our family back in Ohio. As you can imagine, there are plenty of great pics from the entire summer.
Of course, the big news is that Reece is walking! For several weeks she had been walking with the assistance of two hands, then one hand and now mostly with a request for a pinkie every now and then. On Sunday, she took 28 steps without any help. Two days later, we can't count fast enough! Everyone tells us we'll miss the crawling stage, and I am sure we will, but we're obviously thrilled at her latest milestone.
is a little vigilant about germs and asks you to wash your hands before touching their baby or disinfects their baby after you interact with them. The reality is that it is an incredibly uncomfortable situation for the parents. We should know, we have been dealing with it for the past year with Reece. For the most part, on the advice of our pediatrician, we kept Reece away from the public. It made it easier on us, but was also an important factor in her not getting sick.
Well, as many of you know, we recently got the okay for Reece to travel. Our pediatrician did warn us that she'd probably get sick, but that she was stronger so more able to fight it. Sure enough, a week into our trip to Ohio and Reece got the sniffles. The next day (this past Wednesday) we were in the emergency room, as Reece's oxygenation plummeted to the mid-80's. For the next 5 days she will be on daily steroids, amoxycillan, motrin and breathing treatments every four hours. She is doing much better, thank goodness, but it was scary.
So just in case you wonder if we parents of micro-preemies are a little vigilant with germs, we are, and for good reason. The cost is too great not to be.
Written by Nick Hall. Composition and performance by Diane Cardarelli (Nick's cousin)
We had a special reason to celebrate on Cinco De Mayo this year...Reece's doctors discontinued her night oxygen! After 18 months of supplemental oxygen she is completely free! We are elated and celebrating this major milestone!
What a miracle!
Recent Comments