The Gift of Life

Just as the body cannot exist without blood, so the soul needs the matchless and pure strength of faith.
Mahatma Gandhi

Liam needed his third blood transfusion yesterday afternoon. The infection he is fighting seems to be making it difficult for his little body to create blood cells. He is AB+. [Like ME! As I very smugly pointed out to Ryan- he may have inherited the shell from his Papa, but inside- he is just like his Mama! Oh... Lord help us.]

Just taking a nap while LIFE is injected into his hand.

Ryan picked up some information last night and learned that this is basically the best blood type to have because it is compatible with any other type- he can get blood from pretty much anyone. I am not cleared to donate yet (after losing so much blood during surgery) so Ryan is going to donate soon... but hopefully, Liam will not need another transfusion. That would be awesome. Because although it is a good thing... and kind of a miracle that we can even go around giving new blood to people at all, it is still hard to watch. Mostly because I just want him to be better now, thank you.

In spite the transfusion and a slight dip in weight [ 2 lbs 7.3 oz to 2 lbs 6.4 oz- probably because he has been off feedings for three days] Liam had a really good day yesterday. They took him off the ventilator and when we came to visit around 9 he was still completely stable. His nurse said that she can tell he is feeling better because he is getting back to his feisty self. They had to give him a little 'night-night' medicine to keep him from trying to yank all his wires out [That's my boy!] I promptly inquired about whether or not we would be getting some of that stuff to take home. But, alas... as parents we cannot drug our child for being too active. Who came up with that rule?

As you can see from this picture to the left, Liam has transitioned into big boy pants- he was peeing out of the micro-preemie diapers, so although these Pamper Preemies are kind of ridiculously large on him, he is sporting them, nonetheless. I have informed him not to get too comfortable though- he will be heading into cloths as soon as he is home.

Also, to give you a more comparable idea of Liam's size [because it is really hard to tell from pictures].... note the toes. Now, take a look at the picture below:


The first joint on your finger is called the distal interphalangeal joint (and no, I did not make that up.) It is called this because the first section of your finger is called the distal phalanx (the little sections of your fingers deserve names too, you know!).

So... all of Liam's 5 perfect little toes line up along my distal phalanx- stopping directly at my distal interphalangeal joint. Take a look at your own and marvel at the craziness.

He is a wee little man.

And a wink for Mama.
[One of the many, many, many fails from yesterday's attempt to get a picture of Liam with his eyes open.. but, it was all worth it for that crossed-eye cuteness I shared with you in the last post.]