Sunday, November 28, 2004, 7 pm MST

Julian’s second full day home consisted of eating, sleeping, diaper changes, alert active time, and a visit from his home health nurse. Julian weights 7 lbs 9 ½ oz now. He has his first visit with his pediatrician tomorrow.

I have included an early shot of Julian taken during the first week of his life in the NICU. It is very graphic, do not enlarge it unless you have a strong stomach. I believe it shows just how far Julian has come, and it is a miracle.

It has been snowing non-stop since we got home, with about a foot of standing snow outside right now and no sign of stopping.

We are so thankful to the Lord for letting us have Julian back, to be stewards of. If you would like to pray for us long-term, please pray for the following 2 items: Continued and improved kidney function up to and including full function, and that Dave and I would be good parents who are able to introduce Julian to our living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at an early age. Thanks!

Stacy

Wednesday, December 1, 2004, 12 pm MST

Hello everyone! All's well on the home front here with Julian. In fact, of the three of us, he's the one getting the most consistent rest and nutrition. Stacy and I are still paranoid that he's going to pull his nasal canula (oxygen thingie) out of his nose while we're asleep, and so are still sleeping in shifts. We've got it taped to his cheeks pretty tightly, and so far there haven't been any real problems, but the possibility still lurks in the backs of our minds. The oxygen provider will be coming out to the house today to check his inventory of oxygen, and to begin the assessment process, to see when Julian might start to be weaned off oxygen completely. We don't want to rush the process, but we'll sleep better when he's completely disconnected from external attachments. Apart from us, of course! :)

The photos above are some of the first of Julian at home. The first is Julian test driving his new stroller, which we bought before he was born. It's closer to a sports car than anything I've ever owned myself, so at least I can enjoy it. It's nice though, because it can face forwards or backwards, and is higher than traditional strollers, so we can use it as a high chair of sorts, which means Julian can join us at the table for dinner, which is what he was doing here. The remaining photos are of Julian on his play mat, which has a bunch of colorful and/or shiny objects for his viewing pleasure. Good fun. Be sure to scroll up to the previous update if you haven't seen it yet - Stacy included a "before" photo (not for the faint of heart). We continue to marvel at Julian's progress, and thank God for this big little miracle!

Julian had his first official field trip yesterday, up to an appointment with his Pediatrician in Estes Park, followed by a quick stop into Starbucks. All went well at the doctor's office - Julian is continuing to grow (7 lb. 11 oz.), and in general is continuing to thrive. The growth is important, as it will help us determine if he needs dialysis at some point. This is monitored via his blood labs, which were drawn while we were there. Julian's creatinine is holding steady at 2.5, which is not as low as we'd like, but may be low enough not to stunt his growth. Please continue to pray that Julian's working kidney continues to gain momentum.

This morning Julian was visited here at home by a respiritory therapist from the oxygen company, his home-care nurse, his occupational therapist, and his in-home care coordinator. Next week he'll meet his physical therapist. After Julian's goals and objectives have been put together in the form of a care plan, all the nurse's and therapists efforts will be orchestrated through the coordinator. We're not sure yet how long Julian will need to be seen by each of these people, but we're grateful that they're available to us.

Today, Stacy and I received a support gift from the Starbucks CUP fund, a benevolent fund administered by Starbucks to provide monetary assistance to partners in times of need. Many thanks to Starbucks barristas and other partners far and wide for making such a significant donation to our support in this time of need.

Also, one of the families here in Colorado who have been praying for Julian have offered to spearhead a fundraiser to help offset the cost of Julian's birth, 6 week hospital visit and in-home cares. Most health-care institutions offer some kind of payment plan, which we'll most likely need to take advantage of; after our deductibles and annual out-of-pocket-maximums are tallied up, the cost is not insignificant. We are humbled that Brenda Jo Scott and her family have offered to help us in this way. If you're like to participate or would simply like more information, please click here.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support through prayer and email. As we gain confidence in Julian's health level, we'll start to re-engage socially. In the mean time, we're going to pretty much be shut-ins, staying home and staring at our beautiful little baby boy. Thanks for your patience.

David