Ahna and Liam are back together (and I’m here too). It’s been a long day, but the end result is that Liam is still holding fast, and we were able to get Ahna discharged from Parker and up to Children’s so we can all be together. It’s gotta be said that the reason that Ahna is even here right now is because of Ahna. She was able to do exactly what she was supposed to do and rest and recover for two days. I am really proud that she was able to figure a way to rest yet be away from Liam. We all know it was super tough, but the good news is that it’s behind us.
Once Ahna arrived here, we were able to have a few good meetings with the nurses, the doctors, the lactation specialist, etc. It was really good to be able to both be brought up to speed on events at the same time, so we both were able to hear what was being said direct from the source. Liam’s vital signs have been relatively stable throughout the day, even though his temp has fluctuated a little bit. It’s a big balancing act between cooling the head and warming the body, and sometimes it bounces back and forth. The meeting with the doctor resulted in the reinforcement that the two primary concerns right now are his seizure activity (which we think is mostly under control) and any damage that happened to his brain (which we won’t know about for a while).
Tomorrow morning at 520am marks the end of the 72 hours of the head-cooling treatment. The nurses will then start to warm him up steadily over the course of several hours until he his back to a normal temperature. He will then get his caps off and we will be able to see his head all the time (!). After he is warmed back up, he will head down to a MRI (sometime tomorrow), then sometime later get a full-blown EEG. It’s only after all of that that we will begin to get an idea of what is going on and what road lies ahead. Till then, it’s chill. Literally.
Oh, there is that other kid that this blog has been primarily about for the past 3 years, yet has been somewhat ignored over the past 3 days…yea that’s right, Ezra! Talk about an amazing kid. He woke up on Sunday morning to his Saba and Savta instead of his parents and has been off and running ever since. He is amazingly resilient, and we are fortunate to have such a remarkable young boy. He has spent the last three days with either Saba, Savta, or Kjerstin and has played very well with each of them. He is going to come visit us tomorrow morning, so we are excited to be able to spend some time with him. Turns out that he isn’t allowed in the NICU these days (flu season), but we’ll be able to get him back here at least once during out stay.
I’m sure that I am forgetting something to share with you all, but I’m going to use this opportunity to say: tough. It’s going to happen and I’m going to stop apologizing for it.
Here’s some pictures. More in the morning sometime.
diaper change
The Life of a Little Hippie 
I can’t imagine how scary all this is! We pray that the doctors and nurses are able to keep putting all the fires out.
Our hearts are with you today as we hope for good results. It’s good to know that the three of you are together.
Beautiful mother, beautiful baby! We are so glad you are together. Much love to you all.
Ahna you are a rock star! I hope you were able to rest up and store up your sleep for when your little man comes home. All of you are in our prayers. If you need anything call.
Mommy & son together, ah, this is as it should be. We keep thinking about you and send prayers for all of you. Love, Katy Gibbs
So great to see you reunited. Glad you have the separation of two hospitals behind you. Wishing you all the best and some rest. Prayers and love sent your way, Britta & Ryan
So glad to see that Ahna and Liam are together at last. I can’t imagine how hard it has been for her to be away from him. You both are truly amazing and your strength through all of this is inspirational.
Beautful and tender, Oren your photo of Liam and Ahna truly captures her expression of love for him.
Ahna, I’m sure Liam knows his mama is with him now and his little heart is singing.
Love and bear hugs to all
Sonja has been keeping us updated since Sunday and we are soo soo happy that Ahna is now able to be with the baby. We are thinking of your family and little Liam. love from all the Palomaki’s.
PS – we will be back in CO on the 1st and will be anxious to help in any way we can – with dinners or playing with Ezra.
Hello Oren and Ahna. I am Anthony’s mom from daycare. I can’t even begin to tell you how much you all have been on my mind and in my prayers. I’m at work with tears in my eyes after seeing the sweet picture of Ahna kissing precious little Liam. There is one thing I know without a doubt…Liam knows he is loved! Our entire family is praying for all of you and we are following your updates. Anthony misses his buddy Ezra and looks forward to racing cars around Peggy’s coffee table with him soon! Love and blessings to all!
Thank you for the beautiful photos and updates. It is wonderful to see Ahna and Liam reuinited, and wonderful to hear that Ahna is working hard to provide mama’s milk for him. Liam just has an aura of strength about him in these photos, and surely he knows what dedicated parents he has. Much love to your little Ezra, too, and of course to all of you in this stressful time!