20 Jan 07

Exciting News!
Wow--what a GREAT VISIT for all of us this weekend!!!
Tommy was moved again to what they call the "satellite" portion of his care-it is down the hall from the NICU and is where they put babies that are doing very well. He still has the same around-the-clock care, but it is kind of like an upgrade in his status. Praise God!! He actually got moved Thursday night when we got into town. Tricia went up there while the kids and I had fun in the pool. At first, she was freaked out that something bad was going on, but they told her that this was a good move and not to worry at all.

Tommy now weighs a whopping 1369 grams (about 3 pounds even--3.018 to be exact). He is up to 17 ml's per feeding which equates to about 4.5 ounces per day.

They even had him dressed in the clothes Grandma gave us too!!! Of course, we left the cameras at the house in our rush to get out of Altus before the weather rolled in! AHHHHH.

But, the very best part happened at 1130 today. And, if you don't think this is a "God thing" then you are CRAZY! The kids got to see Tommy through a window. Okay, so that does not sound like the best part to many of you, but I can assure you that IT IS! Like I have said before, the kids have been dying to see their baby brother. And, this "satellite" place has windows all over, so I asked the nurse if the kids might be able to look and see Tommy (the windows all have blinds over them). They let the kids into the first room which has windows without blinds, and the nurse held up Tommy for them all to see. When Kaitlyn was saying her prayers tonight, she prayed (like she always does) for Mommy and Tommy and then, at the very end of the prayer, she thanked God for letting her see Tommy. We talked about that for a little while. I asked her if she thought it was interesting that the very night that we got into OKC, Tommy was moved into that new room--and that they let her come into part of that room to see Tommy. I reminded her (and myself, for that matter) that God knows our wants and our needs, and that He decided that it was time for her to get to see Tommy because He knew just how important it was to her. Some might argue that it was a coincidence, but I know better. God was looking out for our kids, and if there is one thing in this whole world parents of all aged kids can remember, it should be that God loves our children even more than we do. How awesome is that?

Tommy's IV fluids are also dramatically decreasing, so we really think he should be completely off them very soon. And, the episodes when his oxygen saturation rates drop and/or is breathing rate drops are down to almost zero.

So, from the sounds of it, Tommy is doing just great! And that is just what I needed after having a really tough week. I am finding that juggling work and home as a "single parent" right now is VERY hard. I have only a few minutes each day for myself, and by Friday, I was completely wiped out. I just felt like I was at my maximum level of emotional and physical level of stress. Luckily, someone at work noticed that, (my previous boss--Lt Col Carriker), so his wife decided that she would pick up Kimberlyn for me from mother's day out and also take the big kids into her house after they get home from school on those days when Kimberlyn goes to school as well. What I really need is to get out and do some running and exercise, as I find that physical activity is the best way for me to get rid of all of my stress that is built up inside. I am confident that if I can get to the gym a few times per week, I'll be able to handle all of this extra stress right now!

But, I'll tell you that everything that happened this weekend so far has really pumped me up, and I'm so excited that the kids got to see Tommy!

Thats it for now...