Humbled...

I must say that I've been very humbled the past week or so...ever since the boys were transferred up to Primary Children's Hospital. It's been amazing to walk down the halls and see the children that are there and the strong parents that are along side of them. I've seen everything from children dealing with leukemia, prosthetic arms, burns, cancer....you name it. Just the other day as we were leaving I overheard a few dads in the elevator talking and one commented that "someday our lives will be back to 'normal'"  that really struck me and made me realize that the hearts of all the parents at this hospital ache for their children. Stephen commented today that life is very surreal and such a blur. It's hard to think WE are the ones dealing with all of this. Another reminder we had just yesterday, was when we met with a grandma who's granddaughter is in the NICU. This new little baby girl was going to pass away in the next day or two. My heart went out to them as she was only born about 3 days ago. Although this is definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done, it makes me reflect and think that we don't have it so bad. We have really been blessed. We've been able to spend almost a whole month with our boys and their little bodies are still trying to fight hard.

One of the reason's our boys were transferred up to Primary's last week, was because they were looking like they needed surgery and they needed some of the specialists up there.  We were so fortunate and were told yesterday afternoon that Ethan was able to be a candidate for surgery.  He needed a reservoir put in place to help with the hydrocephalus and drain the excess fluid off his brain. Everything was coordinated so fast and they were able to get him in with a neurosurgeon this morning. Stephen and I went up early so we could be there before he we into surgery. His poor little head has grown so much. It was up to 29 1/2 cm and had grown 6 cm in about a week.  You could tell that he was in a lot of pain as well. He was so sensitive that he wouldn't let you touch him and even talking was hard on him. We were able to walk down with him to the OR and talk to the doctors before they took him in. The whole procedure took only about 45 minutes. The doctor reported afterward, that Ethan did very well during the procedure and was very pleased with how everything went. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome. Stephen and I are very hopeful that this will help with the pressure he is feeling. We also are hoping that he'll continue to improve as they slowly drain the fluid off each day.

Andrew as well had a better day today. He still is very sick and very sensitive when they get in his bed to bug him. His heart rate drops (but not to zero like we saw on Sunday). But it still gets pretty low sometimes. I'm sure it's likely due to his hydrocephalus. His head is getting bigger, but isn't quite as bad as Ethan's. I'm sure he too is in so much pain with the pressure on his brain. Plus our little boy still has all these nasty infections. It's because of these infections...he's not a candidate for the same type of surgery at this time. The waiting game continues with him.  He did however respond to us today. He opened his eyes for quite a while and just looked at us. He held the nurses hand and didn't have the jerky movements we've seen the past week or so. These were big milestones in my book. Although I know that tomorrow can be a totally new story.

We took a few pictures today and thought we'd share. They're not the best because their room is dark and we can't use a flash...but here they are. They both are growing and weigh the same (2 lbs and 10oz) I even noticed a little "fat" on Ethan's bones today...if you can call it that.

Andrew looking at us today!

Andrew's head sure has grown

Ethan before surgery

Stephen watches as the nurses prep Ethan for Surgery

After surgery Ethan was very sleepy