A Day For Remembering......

Well, here it is, March 1st 2007, the official anniversary of Connor's long-term admittance to Children's Hospital. Even though there had been numerous ER visits, overnight visits and even a 1 week stay at Mary Bridge Hospital last year between Connor's birth and the first of March, today is the day that we will remember forever because it launched a journey that we certainly did not buy a ticket for.

Today there is snow on the ground in so many places of Western Washington, but last year it was unseasonably warm and Randy was out mowing our lawn for the first time of the year. It was warm and I remember wanting to plant flowers that day. Randy was preparing to leave for a 2 week military trip that departed the next day so he was busy, busy, busy with getting the yard ready so I wouldn't have to worry about it. I remember noticing throughout the day that Connor seemed a bit warm, but we just pushed it off on the weather until late afternoon, when I was on the phone with the pediatrician and every time I took his temp it kept going higher and higher. In a panic I took him to the doctor and it was confirmed that he needed to go to Children's. How I remember that drive back home to our house to say goodbye to Randy and pack a small bag for Connor and I. Who knew it would literally be months before we were back in our home, sleeping in our own beds. I remember the uncertainty in saying goodbye to Randy and the tears that fell that night as we worried in separate cities for our little boy.

I remember getting to Children's and parking in the ER lot hoping that we would not have to stay. I was met there by my sister-in-law, Maureen (who, by the way, was a HUGE support and encouragement during all of our hospital days!!!) and we waited in the ER for any kind of word on what was going on with Connor. How I wish I would have known then that an explanation would not be in the cards for us for months. Our Little Bug suffered silently and anonymously for so long as he baffled all the doctors and nurses. Those first few days he was such a fighter. He fought and he fought until that dreadful day on March 6th when we rushed him to the ICU and we almost lost our precious son. Oh, just remembering makes my heart sick and my eyes begin to pool up with tears.

And then I look across the room at our Little Bug playing with his toys and bouncing in his bouncy seat and I have to say, "Thank you Lord for the miracle of our son!" His life was spared on numerous occasions because of the prayers of God's people and the merciful nature of our Heavenly Father. I am humbled by my memories today and of the friendships that we made with precious families at Children's Hospital and of the little angels that hover above us as their journey took them into the arms of our Lord. There are many who still struggle. There are many who still grieve. There are many who rejoice. There are many who are still in the battle with illness and disease. May we never forget our journey and the road we have traveled and those we have met along the way.

"Oh Lord, we rejoice because you are a good God. We trust in you still and we remain in your hands. Protect the children near and far and hold them close to your heart. Thank you for our journey with Connor, although we didn't ask for it, it was your will that we travel it and it is your will that we continue upon the road to healing. Lift up our heads to see your plan with our precious son and thank you for this day that we remember how it all started." Amen!

Lovebug Hugs,
Randy & Lori

Daddy's Home and Life Rolls On........

We were excited this week by Randy's arrival home a few days early!!!! It's always so good to see him walk through the door. Connor is doing so good and he is improving day by day. It's hard to believe that we are coming up on the one year mark of when we entered Children's Hospital last year, with a fever of all things, that kept Connor in the ICU for so many months. I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about that a lot these days, because I am all consumed with what we have all been through and how good God is. We still have our challenges with Connor, especially on the developmental playing field. He continues to have physical and oral therapy once per week at home, which we are so grateful for, and we work with him all the time on his physical development. We see tiny steps, but we are so ready to see some big strides like rolling over, sitting up and holding his head up consistently for long periods of time. How we wish that our hospital stay wouldn't have put him so far behind, but it has and we have a lot of catching up to do. His feeding tube is becoming quite a burden. We want to see him eat by mouth and get rid of this tube for good, but he is nowhere near that point. He is currently off the tube for 6 1/2 hours a day which we are so thankful for. It makes life a lot easier to not pack that backpack around with us when he has his time off. We still see the GI doctor to help us get to the bottom of the reflux problem, but it still persists. We just started a new medicine that we hope will help, but so far, no change after 5 days. Speaking of medicine, we are happy to say that Little Bug is down to only 4 meds per day in the morning and evening. This is a huge answer to prayer for us as we don't want to see him tied down to medicine his entire life. So praise be to the Lord for getting us down to a more manageable medicine regime.

I know it has been quite a while since I really updated on how things were going for Connor so I felt it was high time to give you all some information and some updated prayer requests. We all still appreciated so much your continued prayers and support. Last week when Connor went to the doctor to get his RSV shot he officially weighed in at 22 pounds 9 ounces. So needless to say he is definitely getting harder for me to manage with this ever growing belly of mine. We are just about 5 1/2 weeks away from new baby joining the family and we are prepared and excited.

So life rolls on for the Robertson's one day at a time. We still love reading your comments and we promise to get more pictures up soon.

Lovebug Hugs,
Randy, Lori, Little Bug and Itty Bitty Bug-a-boo too