Elijah's little buddy

It is 3:30 in the morning and I cannot sleep because our dear friends Tim and Katie are going through so much right now and I can't stop thinking about them. Their twin boys were born 3 months premature in March and they have been living in the hospital ever since. Sam has been "home" (i.e., at the Ronald McDonald House) for a while, but their other little one, Elijah, has been through many struggles and is still in the NICU. I cannot believe the amount of challenges he has had to face, and this most recent challenge is such a huge blow to Tim and Katie. He has been unable to get the proper nutrition (due to many factors) and therefore has fragile bones. They found EIGHT broken bones on his body this week! Poor little guy. On top of that, Chicago is their home (due to being put on bedrest while away from home and pregnancy complications, they haven't been home since Thanksgiving!), and their insurance is unwilling to pay for transport to get their little guy to the NICU there. If they want Elijah home, they would have to pay $10,000 themselves for ambulance transport. PLEASE.....keep these guys in your prayers! It looks like they are stuck here in Minneapolis until Elijah gets better. They are such wonderful people and I just don't understand why they have had to endure so much. If you want to read more, click the "Sam and Eli" link to the right. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get insurance to pay for transport when it's not "necessary"? We need to get these guys home!


As for our little man....I've had a little bit of worry this week. Elijah has had some extra heavy breathing. It sounds like there is a squeaky wheel in his chest a lot of the time. Luckily, we have his cardiology appointment on Thursday so we can get him looked at. I don't know if his little body is still just healing up from surgery or what, but he sleeps sooo much at night. I'm not complaining at all, this is a wonderful thing, but is it normal for a baby to sleep from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30-7:00 a.m. every day? He sleeps that much regardless of how he naps....even if he takes 4 hours worth of naps during the day! What in the world would I do if I had been working this past month? I would have gotten to see my baby on Saturdays and Sundays only. Thank GOD for my wonderful employer. Honestly, what a huge blessing for my family right now. We are so grateful. Elijah needs some extra special lovin' and care right now and I'd be an insane mess if I couldn't see him five days a week.