Hanging at the RMH and a Night at the Zoo

Someone called tonight, mentioned he hadn't seen an update in a while, and wanted to make sure everything was still o.k. Sorry about our break from providing updates...w

e've just been adjusting to (and enjoying) life outside the hospital. Until his next bronch on Wednesday (12/16) we're not sure how many updates we'll post because there's not a lot going on respective to his health situation.

However, we're pleased to say we were able to move him to RMH yesterday, and he's enjoying the change of scenery. He sleeps in our room with us, eats meals with us, and loves to wander around the RMH (which is a pretty big place). More good news is that he did very well during the night last night. Before we were discharged, the nurse practitioner on the airway unit emphasized that we are to contact them if he shows any signs of breathing difficulty, reiterating that the reason they want us across the street at RMH is because it's not uncommon for kids to have to be re-admitted to the hospital. However, so far he's doing great, so we're hopeful our next trip to the hospital will be on Wednesday for his bronch.

I (Art) will fly back to Glorieta on Saturday night, as caring for Josiah at RMH is not as physically tiring as doing so in the hospital. In addition, Shelly's mom will arrive in the next day or two to assist Shelly and give Josiah another familiar face to see. The rest of our schedule the next few weeks is on hold for now...Silas and I are supposed to fly to SC for a family wedding on 12/17 (the day Josiah and Shelly were originally scheduled to fly back to NM), but as the doctors now feel it's likely Josiah will be here at least through Christmas, it's more likely Silas and I will fly back to Cincinnati so we can spend Christmas together as a family. That decision will be made after the bronch on Wednesday.

Tonight the Ronald McDonald House took a van shuttle to the Cincinnati Zoo (about 1/2 a mile away) so we could see the Christmas lights at the zoo. Josiah's been so excited to attend so I bundled him up and we had a father-son night out. The lights were wonderful and abundant, and I mostly just followed Josiah around everywhere he wanted to go. His favorite thing was a display featuring two white tiger puppets who cracked jokes, sang funny songs (Josiah liked the one about Santa's underwear), and interacted with the crowd. We went back to see this four times. He and I had a blast spending time together. Before leaving, as we were heading down the hall to the lobby, I had the feeling I'd forgoten something. I went back to the room and asked Shelly if we needed to take anything, as for the past 5 years going out with Josiah has required a large backpack (suction machine, emergency spare trach, HMEs, etc.) and usually oxygen. She said "No, you don't need to take anything." It's hard to explain how surreal and precious that moment was...if you've ever seen us out and about, you know that we typically don't travel lightly, but tonight Josiah and I just grabbed our coats/hats/gloves and headed out like most fathers and sons do. It was an incredible blessing and a memory I'll carry for a long time.

People around the country are "praying for pink", and we remain grateful for the support of so many. Since we haven't provided an adoption update in a week or so, he's a brief update: Our Power of Attorney (POA) in Rwanda is working to obtain our Act of Adoption for each child. Once this document is obtained, our court date will be set (hopefully in the next couple of weeks). Then, we (Shelly, Silas, and I--Josiah will remain in the U.S.) anticipate travelling to Rwanda to pick up the two newest Sneads sometime in January or possibly early February. As you might imagine, things are very busy right now, but also very exciting. Thanks for checking on us!