Ramona Mae

Have I mentioned that grief makes you a whack job? Here is a list, in no particular order, of some the things which have occurred to me may be the cause of Ramona’s birth defect:

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Both Grandma and Grammy have been able to spend a lot of time with us since Ramona’s birth. I did the math and I think one or the other has been staying with us for about 8 of Ramona’s 14 weeks. The love, sacrifice and service they’ve poured out to us during this time has been just short of masochistic. We are so grateful (I also have to give a shout out to Nana, who I know would do the same if only she didn’t have to work).
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The good news is that Ramona does not have a secondary infection. The chest x-ray came back clear which is awesome. The bad news is there isn’t anything they can do to help her get over it. (more…)

Not a Red alert but still a pretty big prayer request today. Jane is on her way to the ER with Ramona because her cold has worsened and made its way to her lungs. They recommended she take her to her pediatrician but she is out of town so off to the ER they go. (more…)

Have I been grumpy lately? I think I have and I think I’ve found the culprit. It’s not the stomach flu. It’s not the 24-hour zombie schedule. Oh, and it’s definitely not ennui.
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If you are like me and have Ramonamae.com as your home page you get a little antsy when a little time goes by without an update posted. The good news is that Ramona is doing fine. She is sleeping a lot and has a cold that is complicating things for her but otherwise she is doing ok. Jane and Andy howevear are not so fine. They are exhausted beyond belief and currently both have the stomach flu. (more…)

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. Driving home from Children’s Memorial after getting discharged. 90/94 is a parking lot but Ramona’s iPod is playing her tunes on the car stereo. Both my ladies asleep in the back seat. It feels peaceful. (more…)

I have a theory: If a life event dictates that everyone you know has to buy you a present, there must be a catch. So I should have known that being a parent, just like being a wife, was going to have it’s moments. I bet any new parent (who isn’t a big fat liar) would admit to thinking from time to time that they’ve made a pretty major tactical error.
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When we were struggling with infertility I was angry. Angry at my pregnant friends for “having it so easy”. Angry at Andy for being so calm and rational. Angry at well-meaning relatives for being “clueless”, “naive”, or “insensitive”. I even went through a phase where I was angry at “our culture” for being so child-centric. “Why,” I would ask, “does every major life event, holiday and family get-together have to revolve around children and their parents? Are Andy and I invisible because we’re childless?”.
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I just got off the phone with Jane, and she asked me to post an update. Ramona isn’t coming home today. She has been vomiting again and having some diarrhea. It may be that they were attempting to wean her off some medications too quickly, or a side effect from her cold, or perhaps a G-I infection. They are going to keep her at the hospital today and hope to send her home tomorrow. Let’s all pray for a healthy Ramona and a peaceful homecoming.