Stephen's Journey: Hospital Life

Monday, September 9, 2013

Hospital Life

Here's an overview of a day in the life of a little boy stuck inside a hospital:

Zooming cars and trucks where ever he can

Watching cranes and construction workers (aka Bob the Builder) build a new tower at the hospital

Getting to spend a little time outside

Greeting everyone in the hallway

And finally feeling better!

2 comments:

AnonymousSeptember 10, 2013 at 10:15 AM
A SMILE displays a Happy Heart. Glad Stephen is feeling better. Hope you ae back in your home shortly. Houston Hugs, Uncle Tom and Aunt Brenda
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AnonymousSeptember 10, 2013 at 11:21 AM
Love his smile. I hope your can smile again too. A mother is as happy as her saddest child.
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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!!