Today is Prematurity Awareness Day

Today I had a great opportunity. I got to go back to the Bryn Mawr NICU to thank the staff there. The March of Dimes sponsored a "Day of Gratitude" and asked me to go and speak to the staff. I still can't say enough good things and as I said several times today, while we did NOT get the outcome that we wanted (obviously we wish Aaron were still here), we were SO thankful for everything the NICU staff did and they were able to give us 33 precious days with our dear sweet Aaron. That means the world to me.

Also, our fame is spreading. During the presentation 2 Philly news channels - NBC 10 and Fox Philly were there to cover the story. The NBC 10 story ran this afternoon and it was an EXTREME close up of me - ewwww....nobody wants that...it was short, but they may run something else at 11:00. The Fox news just came on as I type, but Drummer and I are checking that out now to see if they show it. They did both film a photo of Aaron - NBC 10 did not use it, but perhaps Fox will make Aaron a star as well - although he is already a star in our hearts :)

Thanks you again NICU staff for everything. You really are amazing people.

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Aaron didn't make it.

About 3 hours ago, Aaron passed away. After speaking with his doctors earlier in the last few weeks, we decided that if at any point they were no longer supporting Aaron's life, but instead preventing him from dying, that we didn't want him to suffer any longer. We reached that point this morning. Aaron had been struggling for life from Day One, and after surgery, and several weeks of fighting, Aaron ran out of strength. He fought hard, but the strain of surgery just proved to be too much for him. I'm sure I'll feel up to posting more information later. I just don't seem to have any energy left in me for relating this at the moment. But I did feel it was important to share this information with all of you who have been keeping tabs on us. Thank you for your concern, your prayers, and your well-wishes during this difficult time. We love you. P.S.: I'd like to leave you with the following lyrics that popped into my head while we held Aaron as he passed away. They ...

IT WASN'T NEC!

After a long day of sitting at the hospital, hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst, the surgeon came in to talk to us and revealed to us that things went better than anyone could have possibly expected. Aaron never had an infection. What he did have though, was a hernia. He had a loop of intestine trapped beneath another loop, and while it was never "infected," it was trapped and deprived of blood, so it was dead. The surgeon removed the damaged loop, and thankfully, there is plenty more intestine left in there for Aaron. He's recovering peacefully from today's surgery, and was already at 28% oxygen (21% is room air) on the ventilator, and his other stats were all back where they were pre-surgery. He's doing fine. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and well-wishes during this time. I fully believe that Aaron wouldn't have rebounded from yesterday's procedure so quickly, and wouldn't have been as ready for today's if not for those...

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Baby On Your Six

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