Prep, Delivery, News, and Surgery

I have enough information for 4 posts. Here's a quick summary and a lot of photos!

The Preparation:

Last week, with the help of some great volunteers, we assembled 70 bags for delivery to the Ronald McDonald House. These friends and family were among the many who helped us during Ramsey's hospital stay so it was great to have them with us while we prepared to honor him!

Artwork thanks to Reed and fellow students at Barbara Thompson!

 

I had a little photo shoot with Ramsey...well based on the volume of photos, I guess it wasn't exactly little. He was so cooperative and offered all sorts of unique expressions. 

The Delivery:

Today I woke up feeling almost as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. We were finally set to deliver the bags, and that just made my day! Our family made the trip along with my mom. Big brother Reed was happy to help and so excited to visit both Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Ronald McDonald House. He sees both locations as one and the same...he sees them as a happy place.  He watched in anticipation for the colored "stripes" of the hospital. It is a beautiful building inside and out and somehow, Reed looks forwarded to visiting it like it is more of an entertainment venue than a hospital. "There it is...we're here...I love Ronald McDonald", he exclaimed.

We were happy to talk to and provide the bags to the same staff that worked at RMH during our stay there. They might distribute them this summer at a Luau party on June 20. When you See the end of my post, you'll see just one of the reason that date is perfect.

The News:

Marie McCandless, news editor of our local paper, the Latrobe Bulletin, featured an article about Ramsey and the welcome bag project. I'm thrilled for the awareness that it raised!!

The Surgery:

Ramsey had a checkup with surgery today. His X-Ray looks good. He still has a curvature of his diaphragm, but the patch seems to be holding well. His doctor feels now is the time to do the surgery of his abdominal hernia. He has proven that his lungs and heart are functioning well and that the chance of any pulmonary hypertension is slim. His surgery will be June 20th (the same day as the aforementioned Luau Day at RMH). His stay will be about 3-5 days. To be clear, this does not mean he reherniated. The patch on his diaphragm is still in place. However, Ramsey has a hernia on his belly. When they repaired his diaphragm and moved his stomach and bowels where they belonged, there was essentially not enough room for everything in his tiny, once empty belly. Thus, they used a mesh patch to help. As expected, the mesh patch is no longer doing it's job. His surgeon will operate at the original incision site. Now, he has enough extra skin and room to reconnect the muscles/lining of his abdomen without the use of a patch. In essence he'll be having a little tummy tuck. The results? No more giant bulge on the left side of his belly. Hopefully greater ease with bowel movements. And quite possibly, a lesser scar than he already has. Thank God for cool surgeons!

Love Letter

As most of you know, the Pittsburgh Ronald McDonald House was our home during Ramsey's hospital stay. (We look forward to delivering 70 bags there next week!) The Ronald McDonald House produces a newsletter called LoveLetter three times a year to keep friends of RMHC updated with the happenings of the organization. This November I was surprised when I received a phone call from RMH. They asked if I would write an article from our family's perspective about "the house that love built". The article was featured here, in the Winter 2012 Newsletter.

Look who's walking

I love watching children grow. Each stage brings a new set of exciting changes and every new word or deed, though often simple, never cease to impress. Ramsey is 15 months old. He now weighs 20 lbs. He loves to sing. His favorite song is "Ya ya ya, Ya ya ya". As his vocabulary grows, the lyrics do too. He is learning body parts. The first thing we taught him was nose, so he now grabs everybody's! He loves giving kisses...I think they are kisses although it feels more like he is trying to eat my face.

He has decided to let go of the furniture he clung to for the last three months and WALK!  I shot this video tonight. He was tired and angry; he wanted the video camera.  (Please disregard the mess in the background...those blankets, well that's Reed's "tent")

"We will never be the same."

About a month ago, I took an ordinary trip to Walmart and found myself in tears, TWICE.  Yes, my readers- I have issues. First, I saw an adorable pregnant woman strolling along with her toddler in the shopping cart. They looked so cute...so happy, yet I couldn't help but wonder...is she really happy? Is her baby OK or is she carrying the weight of some dreadful prenatal diagnosis? Seriously, I have issues. I know it's crazy to think that way, but I couldn't help but remember the mixture of joy and fear while I was pregnant, knowing my son might not survive.

Next, I made my way to the checkout. A couple in front of me had a cute 18 month old daughter. We got to talking and I learned that she was adopted. She was taken from her birth parents at several weeks of age after they beat her, fracturing her skull and covering her body with bruises. Enter the tears AGAIN. I became so enamored with the couple that to this day, I wish I had the opportunity to talk to them again.

The following day, I eagerly waited to meet my friend Liz and her family. I first met Liz at the Ronald McDonald House while her son Case was also being treated at Children's Hospital. Case was born just a few weeks before Ramsey. Liz and I made arrangements to meet on their way home from some outpatient appointments at Children's. We greeted one another tearfully, then laughed at ourselves. Liz commented, "We will never be the same."

Liz is right, we will never be the same. We are stronger. Wiser. We are blessed. And sometimes, we are a bit emotional too. It's comforting to know there are friends, like Liz who understand.

This week, we had the pleasure of meeting Liz, her husband Dan, and their son Case for dinner.  We had a great time! It is so exciting to celebrate the lives of our sons together.

Read Case's blog: A Very Special Case.

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Our plans were a bit derailed since both boys are fighting colds, but all in all it was a good day. Here are some photos of our weekend. Check out the stuffed toy in the last photo; it's a set of lungs from a company called I Heart Guts. It is strange and adorable at the same time, but I couldn't resist it...I thank God every day for Ramsey's big beautiful lungs. Boy does he know how to use them!

Reed has his first chocolate of the day

Think the chocolate kicked in already?

My boys love sticks....

...and they love each other.

Think he likes hard boiled eggs?

Peek-a-Boo!

 

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

We are thrilled that the Ronald McDonald House collection in Ramsey's honor was such a success! Our goal was 61 bags. We have enough for 70+ well-stocked bags. I can't say thank you enough to each of you that have helped to make this a success! We couldn't have done it without the help of friends, family, churches and businesses who supported the project. In addition to the products that were donated, we received enough in monetary donations to purchase custom tote bags! We also have enough money left to purchase a few items that we still need, and possibly some extra to go towards preparing a meal for the families at RMH on the day we deliver the bags. We hope to prepare the bags in April and deliver them in late April or early May. We're so excited to support over 70 families in Ramsey's honor!

My basement is packed with donations!

Ramsey displays some of the goodies!

Now, about the bags...you may remember the logo I created to raise CDH awareness and prayers for Ramsey. We used it on Facebook and even ordered cute buttons that our family, friends, and eventually the staff at Children's Hospital wore in honor of Ramsey.

We were (and still are) amazed at the immense support we received. As I planned this project, one thing I wanted was a way to allow other families to praise and honor their loved ones...to share their story, to request prayer, to seek consolation from other's who have walked in their shoes. That's when the idea for the tote bag graphics came along.  I modified the "Rooting for Ramsey" logo so it just says, "Rooting for _______". Each tote will include a marker so the family can fill in the blank with their child's name. I had tags made to attach to each bag that briefly explain why we wanted to honor Ramsey. They invite each recipient to visit our new Facebook page, Rooting for a Reason, to share their story. I hope the page might grow so each family can benefit from the support and prayers of others just like we did!

That Smile...

Tonight, I wanted to write to commemorate the day we brought Ramsey home, one year ago. I launched iPhoto only to realize that we brought him home one year ago....YESTERDAY.   I'm glad there were no fact-checkers around to criticize me for the last 60+ days as I promoted our Ronald McDonald Collection to end on the 12th, the day of his supposed discharge.

Maybe I did forget the exact date (I'll blame that on the exhaustion of a two month hospital stay), but I will never forget the joy, the fear and the anticipation of bringing Ramsey home. It was so exciting to see our sons together in the backseat for the first time. I still find myself grinning with joy when I catch a glimpse of them side by side in my rear-view mirror.

The smile on Reed's face as we drove home is one I will never forget...

And Ramsey, well...it took him a bit to settle into this place we call home...

 Until peacefully, he slept in his own crib, 366 days ago.