Zeke was just shy of 4 weeks old in this picture. Doesn't he look content? He is! His shirt says "Daddy's little wingman"--perfect for the son of a pilot!
Please pray for this missionary-pilot-family-in-training!
(p.s. I love this picture because it makes me look like
I only have one chin!)
Wow! I can't say I wasn't warned, but this instantaneous, deep-rooted love a grandma has for her grandchild is profound. I am irrevocably in love with another man...but since he 's only 21" long, my husband doesn't mind!
God blessed me with a full four weeks with Bethany, Jeffrey, and Zeke, and we ALL enjoyed the time together. One of Jeffrey's buddies, when he found out his mother-in-law would be there a whole month, pulled him aside and asked, "What do you really think of her being there for so long?" Jeffrey said it was fine by him... and it really was good!
One item that helped make our time really sweet was that I was able to give them some time to themselves (once the hospital stays were over and done with.) I listed my ESL tutoring services on the Grand Rapids craigslist.org, and a woman from Poland responded! We met six times, so it gave me time away, the kids time alone, and it provided money for groceries, gas, laundry, and some of the extra "etceteras" that the advent of a child bears on a household.
If you want to learn the nitty gritties of Zeke's health, you can visit www.thespangs.blogspot.com. I will abbreviate the experience to this:
- He spent 1 day in Pediatric ICU and 4 more in Pediatric Hematology in DeVos Children's Hospital.He received numerous transfusions of platelets, but even upon discharge, he wasn't producing his own fast enough.
- He was home for a couple of days, then went back to Hematology for another 3 days, this time because his bilirubin (jaundice) was SO high, he was on the edge of the danger zone. (For those who like numbers, it was at 23. At 24 they seriously worry about brain damage!) He got to spend some time in an incubator with bili-lights.
Jeffrey really thoughts these shades were cool!
- Upon return to home, Zeke's mom and dad still had to take him in for labs 3x a week, and he continued to need more of Bethany's platelets. When he was 3+ weeks old, they decided to do another transfusion, but when Bethany went to the blood center, she wasn't permitted to give (low blood pressure and low iron), so they decided to see how Zeke did over the weekend without help, because, while his count was still low (85,000), it was rising on its own.
- On Monday the count was good. On Friday the count was up to 130,000! He's holding his own, and that's great reason to rejoice!
I'd like to say that Zeke is trying to give me a kiss here, but, he was looking for something only Mommy could provide!
Bethany discovered that poor Jeffrey had a deprived childhood:he never ate black olives off of his fingers, and thus never
developed a taste for them. As I prepared taco soup for dinner,
I couldn't resist this photo-op. Bethany ate the olive for Zeke,
just in case you were concerned.
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