Saturday, October 13, 2007, Anchorage, Alaska~
Dear Journal~
Michael here. I just woke up; had been sleeping soundly since seven last night--that was, until just now; another Code:Blue. Hope it isn't for Jenna or Kenai--nope, someone else. *Whew!* I can breathe now---
Now that my heart is pounding, I must do something to calm it down---breathe, Michael, breathe!! Ahhh, there. That's better!
Jenna and Kenai are both holding their own: Jenna is now awake, but she is still very weak. She has the tube in her nose still, so she is unable to eat. She looks miserable with that thing sticking out of one nostril like a snake trying to wiggle his way down her nose. I feel bad for her. She looks at me with pleading eyes, as if to say: Get. This. Thing. Out!!
When I saw our newborn son, Kenai, in the NICU, he was having a bad day. He was in the process of getting blood drawn from his heel; it must have hurt, judging from the way he was screaming--or trying to, anyway. He still has the breathing tube down his throat, but his color looked good, and that is most encouraging. His neonatologist thinks the ventilator will be taken out sometime today because he's oxygenating well.
Let's hope so.
I wonder how our other son, Mattaq, is doing. He's at Jerrica's, his aunt's, house, where Jerrica and her husband are keeping watch over him until we come back home from the hospital. I know he must miss us, his mommy and daddy, most terribly. I will have to call Jerrica sometime today, to say hi to Mattaq, and to let her know how Kenai (as well as Jenna) are faring.
I miss Mattaq something fierce. I think of his round, cherubic face, the shock of thick, straight black hair, and his wide, ever-knowing eyes that crinkle tight shut when he smiles or laughs, and I can't help but get a lump to my throat. Mattaq is now one and a half, no longer a baby, but a big boy; and I know for true he is going to be a great big brother to Kenai once he comes home!
I talked to Sikik yesterday: she was having a bad flare of her MS. She was using her crutches yesterday, and she didn't even leave the house. She said it was snowing hard up there in Barrow, where she lives, and she wasn't taking any chances of falling. Sikik sounded good, though; she was happy to hear that we had another boy, but sorry to hear that Jenna had lost a lot of blood, had to have an emergency hysterectomy.
I also talked to Louisiana Sandusky: she said yesterday she was ready to kill one of her kids: seems that a child left the water running, and flooded the downstairs bathroom as well as part of the hallway carpeting. She was fit to be tied! I laughed though when she told me; the way she described it was funny. She should have been a comedianne; she has a natural gift for being funny!
I know for a fact that life is never dull at the Sanduskys--not when there's sixty kids running about!! LOL
I still don't know how Louisiana does it--or Bill, her husband--; my one son, Mattaq, has energy enough for a hundred kids: always on the go, busy, busy, busy!! If it isn't chasing the cats, throwing his Sippy cup down the stairs (I guess to see if it breaks; so far it hasn't, much to my surprise!), playing constantly, or making noise (he loves the sound of his own voice!), he can be sure to find something else interesting to do. He's one very busy little man, that is for true !!
Anyway, back to Jenna: she is still in critical condition (but improving). She faces a long recovery, and I will have to help take care of her until she regains lost strength. Our neighbors will help me if I get overwhelmed, and we will have the visiting nurses come by too, so it won't rest entirely on my shoulders. She should be home from the hospital by sometime next weekend, according to her doctors.
Well, I am going to go to the cafeteria (it just opened) to nab a bagel, a cup of coffee, some O.J., a banana, a piece of grapefruit, and some Honey Nut Cheerios; am hungry this morning! I will write in here again with another update about Jenna and Kenai; stay tuned~
~Michael.
P.S.: Continue with those prayers. PLEASE!
