Final Post

This is the final post for "Jonathan's Journey." This blog was intended to give a record of my time in the NICU @ Brookwood Medical Center and now I'm home. The blog's purpose has been fulfilled, PRAISE! Therefore, I have a new blog "Tales from the Crib." In this blog I will give account of my ongoing journey as a preemie adjusting to life outside the NICU. Here's the link, http://jsrathome.blogspot.com/ Feel free to drop by anytime. The blog will be updated two to three times a week with plenty of video, pics, and updates. I initially planned on moving on from the whole blogging scene. However, family and friends from abroad convinced this was not in their best interest. So, we blog on.

To the NICU docs and staff @ BMC. You are truly AWESOME and we LOVE YOU!! I hope you drop me a line when you have time. If not, I'll see you at the reunion.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for me and thanks for letting me into a small portion of your life. Y'all keep praying and I'll keep growing! JSR, out!

Third & Fourth Days @ Home...

As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
Eccl. 11:5 (ESV)

The past two days have been pretty lazy around here. Well, for me they have been lazy. My Mommy and Daddy always seem to be doing something for me or other things that need to be done. My feedings are going well, some better than others, but still good, PRAISE! I'm starting to sleep longer when I nap. I was sleeping about 30 minutes at a time, but now I sometimes sleep from feed to feed (3 to 4 hours). I think my folks hope and pray this trend continues, LOL. Friday was a good day as Meme and Pop dropped in for a visit. One neat thing was it was their first opportunity to hold me. I think they had a good time, LOL. (I've included at the end of this post a short video from their visit.) Today has gone well with Mommy and I hanging out most of the day while Daddy did a ton of stuff around the house. He even did the monthly Wal-Mart run and cooked dinner.

Last week I mentioned that the blog (Jonathan's Journey) would be ended when I get home. My reasoning was that it was intended to record my journey through the NICU and to provide my loved ones with updates. Well, let me tell you that some of my family and friends weren't all that thrilled with that option. So, I've decided to continue to blog about my life as a preemie. However, soon there will be a new blog that will be updated every two or three days. This way all my loved ones, and anyone else who wants to, can follow my progress over the next few months. I don't have a title yet, but it'll happen sometime within the next couple of days, Lord willing. For the time being there will be a second photo album on the right hand side of the screen containing all the pics since I got home.

Thanks for praying for me and I ask that you continue to pray as the Lord leads. Little guys like me are vulnerable to sickness and the slightest little bug and turn into something serious in a snap. So, pray for health, strength, growth, and a good immune system. Tomorrow is Sunday and I know many of you will be attending worship. Don't forget to offer thanks for what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do. Thanks again!! Later JSR.

Second Day @ Home...

Today was a good day. Daddy gave me my early morning feeding then Mommy and I spent the rest of the AM just hanging out before my afternoon doctor's appointment. My appointment went well. PRAISE! Dr. Harmon said everything looked good and he'd like for me to gain full pound by our next visit. We like Dr. Harmon, he's a nice guy who doesn't make you feel like you're just the next patient. Late in the afternoon or early evening we had some friends (adopted aunts) bring us dinner, Diva and Mrs. Siggie. They are the ladies who painted my room when my folks just couldn't get to it. So, they are already way ahead of the game on the hug meter. It was good to see them again. I wanted to include some video clips with this post, but my video guy hasn't been able to get to it yet. I'll speak with him about this, LOL. Please continue to pray that I get settled in quickly, start sleeping more consistently, and continue to have good health. Blessings, JSR.

First Day @ Home...

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her
young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah
Psalm 84:1-4 (ESV)

We left the NICU about 6 PM last night, Tuesday evening. I slept through the whole first trip outdoors and first car ride deal, but I'm sure I'll get plenty of exposure to both. When we got home my folks placed me in a bassinet in our living room. I spent the rest of the night napping, eating, and taking in my new surroundings. Home is a lot different than the NICU was, so I decided to stay awake a lot last night in order to adjust to my new surroundings. One neat thing is I got to meet our cat, Annie. She was really cautious at first, smelling everything associated with me, and she dared to get closer as the night wore on. I guess her curiosity got the best of her, LOL. Now she just stays close by. Needless to say, it was a busy and tiring day.

Today, Wednesday, has been really low key. My Dad has gone out a couple of times to run some errands, but Mommy and I have spent the day hanging at the house. Our pastor, Burt, came by for a while. He toted me around just about the whole time he was here. He's got eight children so he's had a ton of experience at carrying babies, LOL.

It's good to be home! PRAISE!! I'll post more tomorrow, including some video of the trip. Please continue to pray that the first few days go well as we make the necessary adjustments, thanks! Later, JSR.

One Hunded & Fifth Day, "Discharge Day"

Today is the day we've been looking forward to since we got here, it's Discharge Day. PRAISE!! I had a good night and am going to have a busy morning. In a little while my doc will come by and do that one last thing that makes men cringe, LOL. I'll be monitored closely the rest of the day to make sure everything is good to go. Please pray that things go well and that there are no surprises. God has been ever so gracious to me every step along my journey and I know he'll continue to be. This afternoon my folks will have a long sit down with Dr. DiCarlo and then it will be time to go. The NICU usually discharges babies between 2 and 4 PM, so we should be leaving somewhere around that time. I'll post an update once we get home and I'm settled. I hope each of you has a blessed day. Later, JSR.

God said, “My presence will go with you.
I’ll see the journey to the end.”
Moses said, “If your presence doesn’t take the lead here, call this trip off right now. How else will it be known that you’re with me in this, with me and your people?
Are you traveling with us or not? How else will we know that we’re special, I and your people, among all other people on this planet Earth?”
God said to Moses: “All right. Just as you say; this also I will do, for I know you well and you are special to me.
I know you by name.”

Ex. 33:14-17 (TMSG)

One Hundred & Fourth Day...

Sunday was a relaxed day in the NICU. It was so quiet around here that many times my folks were the only people not employed by or admitted to the NICU. I had a really good day of napping, eating, and just resting, PRAISE! I go to spend some quality time with both Mommy and Daddy. BTW, the reason my Daddy is wearing those gloves is he's got a touch of poison ivy and he didn't want me to be exposed. Everything is still set for me to go home on Tuesday and unless God has other plans that's what we'll do, Woo-Hoo!! I"ll spend today just hanging out and logging time until I've been off the O2 for seven calendar days, which will be tomorrow. Tonight when my folks left they said good-bye to the weekend staff. This will probably be the last time we see them and everyone wanted to hug and chat for a few before they left. There's a bond between a preemie, their parents, and the people who care for them; especially for those families that are in the NICU as long as we've been. It was a great moment to be a fly on the wall for. Please pray that there are no surprises and we continue right on schedule. I'll post more later. Blessings, JSR.

God, my strength, I will sing praises to you.
God, my defender, you are the God who loves me.

Psalm 59:17 (NCV)

One Hundred & Third Day...

Greetings from the NICU @ BMC. Saturday was a productive day for me. (BTW, May 31, 2008 was my original due date, obviously things didn't exactly follow the calendar.) All my vitals remained good and my feedings went well, PRAISE! When my Mommy came in yesterday she brought my car seat so I could take the "Car Seat Test." This is a test you must pass before you can go home. Basically, they sit you up in the seat like you were going on a trip. I got all strapped in and they placed all the blankets and stuff around me, just like it will be in our van. Then they leave you alone for about 30 minutes, the whole keeping a close eye on your O2 sat rate. I had to keep my saturation rate above 90 for the entire time. I passed with a range of 90 to 97, which my nurse said is GREAT, PRAISE! One more hoop down and now only a few more to jump through and I'm outta here, PRAISE!! My folks will be so excited. Today is Sunday and my Mommy and Daddy will be by after church. Meme and Pop are also coming up for their usual visit, cool. It should be a really relaxed day for all of us. I hope everyone has a great time at worship and enjoys the day. Please keep me in your prayers and be sure to thank the Lord for his marvelous work on my behalf. I'm gonna run now and get the day started. Soli Deo Gloria!

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:23-24 (ESV)