Stephen's Journey: Happy Veterans Day

Friday, November 11, 2011

Happy Veterans Day

First and most important we want to say a big thank you to all the veterans out there and those that are currently serving our country and keeping us all safe!! We greatly appreciate the sacrifices you and your family have made!

Because today was a holiday, Bill had the day off! I can't remember the last time he had a day off during the week, so we decided to take Stephen downtown to see the monuments and get some pictures. Unfortunately, because of the holiday, it was really busy and we couldn't find a parking spot anywhere close to the Mall...shocker! So we decided to head to the zoo instead! The National Zoo is free, which makes it a great place to take the little ones. Despite the chilly temps, we were able to see a bunch of animals and had a great time walking around (I think the chilly temps kept the crowds away). We saw the giant pandas, red pandas, lots of birds, cheetahs, zebras, gazelles, and elephants.

Here are some pics from our zoo adventure:

1 comment:

ciaraNovember 11, 2011 at 4:40 PM
What a fun day! The zoo is way more fun than monuments, if i do say so myself! P.S. Bill looks totally daper and GQ - lucky girl you are. hehehe. Have a great weekend
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Our Crazy Kidney Life

As many of you already know, our son Stephen, was born with a very rare kidney disease called Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD). When the disease was discovered during my 27th week of pregnancy, Stephen was given a less than 1% chance of living more than a few hours past birth. He was to have such severely underdeveloped lungs that the doctors said he would likely not even take one breath. However, on January 4, 2011, we were granted our 1st miracle - and Stephen came into this world crying (and breathing!) and fighting for his life with fierce determination. At 6 days old he had BOTH of his kidneys removed and began peritoneal dialysis. Stephen came home from the hospital when he was 59 days old requiring 12 hours of dialysis every night as well as enteral (feeding tube) feeds during the day and overnight.

On May 9, 2013, we were granted our 2nd miracle, in the form of a new kidney from an extremely generous friend. Stephen received a kidney from a non-related living donor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He spent 13 days in the hospital recovering from his big surgery and ever since has been living life the fullest! His life is still a delicate balance of medications and weekly lab work, but he's an extremely vibrant, loving, active 2.5 year old.

This blog is Stephen's journey told through my eyes (his mother's), thoughts, and emotions, with extreme highs and lows. But there's no way we would be where we are today without all of the support, thoughts and prayers from our family, friends, and readers! Thank you!!