Stephen's Journey: Stephen's Safari Adventure

Monday, January 9, 2012

Stephen's Safari Adventure

This past Saturday we held a little birthday party to celebrate Stephen's first year of life with family, friends, and some of Stephen's nurses and doctors. Bill and I had decided long ago that if Stephen made it to his first birthday, we'd have a big party to celebrate....and celebrate we did! And since some of Stephen's all-time favorite things have been jungle themed, aka his first pacifiers, Manny the Monkey, Jeffrey the Giraffe, and Eli the Elephant; we went with a safari theme. It was so fun to plan and "hunt for" jungle animals, and I think it turned out perfect for our "little monkey!" I know Stephen won't remember it all, but I hope that when he looks back at the pictures, he'll be able to feel the love! And I know it was kind of crazy to have such a party for a one year old, but I just couldn't help myself :)

The captions are for you, Aunt LuAnn!! :)

Getting dressed up for the party. Stephen went as the bush pilot.

Hangin' with GrandDad. Seriously, do I really have to wear this thing!?

Year in review....subject: Stephen Schwartz

Oh no...what's happening!? Are they going to put something on my head again!?

Oh yes! Yes we are!!

Ugh.

Gimme, gimme, gimme! Stop taking photos and let me at it!

Oh boy, everyone's looking at me. What am I supposed to do now? I'm a rookie at this gig.

Hmmmmm....what is this stuff?

That was pretty good...but I think I've had better. Just kidding! That cupcake was the BOMB!

Oh Mom.

Hi Dad. Show is over. I'm exhausted after all that. Best part; watching Mom trying to blow out my candle. You'd think with all of that hot air, she'd blow it out no problem. Not so much. Hehehe.

Thanks for sharing my secret with everyone. I did eventually get it out :)

Happy First Birthday to my little Safari Man!! I love you!!!

1 comment:

AnonymousJanuary 10, 2012 at 9:56 AM
Hi Stephen,
Well, it looks like you had quite a birthday!!!Uncle Dick loved your bush pilot shirt and can't wait to take you for a flight in the 170 and show you this "big blue marble" from the air! Mom's comments were terrific--we loved them and are sure you will too when you read over this blog in 20 years! We are looking forward to watching you grow through the next year and pray that God will continue to bless you and your wonderful Mom and Dad.
With love and hugs,
Aunt LuAnn & Uncle Dick
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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!!