Mighty Mouse

First off, thank you to all who have been praying for our little Jerome. Although life has been very difficult as of late, we truly have felt the support you ask for us. We have noticed many small miracles, such as clearing the gauntlet of an Italian hospital's bureaucracy regarding payment and having mere acquaintances open their home to us for a few nights to be close to the hospital while Duquesa recovers.

Today Jerome is one week old. He has already been through so much, and yet he hasn't even tasted his first drop of milk. He is doing well so far in his recovery. The doctors determined that he could breathe on his own and that his kidneys were working well enough to warrant a move to the less intensive unit. Sometimes we run across those moments in life when reality truly is stranger than fiction. Our enthusiasm was quickly dampened when we learned that Jerome's move was being hastened by another baby's emergency who needed Jerome's place in the NICU. We followed the nurses as they wheeled Jerome out and saw the parents of the baby in trouble. Irony can be cruel. They are people we know well because the husband is the brother of our close friend and neighbor, Silvia. Their little boy Matteo had been born about a month ago with a cleft palette, and he suddenly couldn't breathe. He had surgery today, but we haven't heard the results.

On a lighter note, the nurses took Jerome out of the incubator, wrapped him in blankets, and handed him to Duquesa so she could hold her baby for the first time. It was very moving. He instantly became calm and just looked up at her with those wide infant eyes. He even smiled for the first time while in his mother's arms. Who knew the world revolved around such small things?

Now we just wait for what could be a very long time until his little intestines start to work so that he can eat and put some meat on his tiny frame. He is not out of the woods by any means, especially regarding the risk of infection, but his progress has been encouraging. And inspiring. One day I hope to be as strong as he is. ;) My little Mighty Mouse.

Please say a little prayer for our little guy!