Parker update Feb 28

It was a quiet day today for our little guy. I think he is building up the reserves he needs for the next couple of days.

PJ was alert more in the morning and he was moving all his little limbs. He also seemed to shake his head back and forth when they rubbed him down today. His finger grip is also getting tighter and he is coughing a lot on his own to try and clear himself.

The intern said he was doing much better and that they were lowering his oxygen and respirator intake. No convulsions again today.

As it is Saturday there was a lot less going on at the hospital and there was limited staff. Gaelle, one of our two favorite nurses (the other being Florence) was back but was under a lot of time pressure and Doctor Oualha was difficult to access throughout the day so we really never got a formal update. Gaelle assured us that it was a good day and that he was clearly getting stronger.

We were trying to figure out if we could sleep at home tonight but although things are looking up -- it is still hard to imagine him being so far away-- even if it is only a couple of miles. I went home for the first time since this all started last saturday to take a real shower and see the kids (only Abby was awake) but Renee couldn't see herself being gone for so long. So we are back to the bad news room couch.

A dear friend dropped off a talk on meeting the challenges of adversity and we found a lot of comfort in reading some of it. One passage seemed to be particularly appropriate in that it stated "we experience hard things so that we too can have compassion and understanding for others."

We have now spent six days and nights in the ICU and we have seen some people come and some people go. One little girl left yesterday after being here for eight months. Another small baby arrived and has been crying quite a bit-- how great it has been to hear a baby cry. Many of the childrens parents come each day for a couple of hours but then have to get back to their other responsibilities. While we feel so blessed by the prayers that have sustained us spiritually-- the physical and temporal support is no small miracle. We live several thousands of miles away from the majority of our family yet our four little girls are having their temporal, physical and emotional needs (and honestly a lot more of their wants than if it was just mom and dad) met on a daily basis by an extended cast of loving people. This enables Renee and I to be near our sweet boy all the time. With such a level of compassion shown to us we are striving to find how we can be more compassionate to those around us in an honest and meaningful way.