I reported on the 4th that Ira was being treated with antibiotics for the bacteria that was growing around the Broviac site. The antibiotics were being administered through an IV. Ira lost (meaning, the IV got occluded) his IV on Monday evening and so they worked on getting him a new IV. He lost it again on Monday night and got him a new IV. He lost it again Tuesday evening and they worked for an hour (shaved more hair) and finally got a new IV. Guess what? He lost it again on Tuesday night. The nurse decided to screw the antibiotics ("Rain on it!" as a friend would say) and wait until Ira's doctors reported for duty on Wednesday morning. She strongly suggested that they try to find an oral antibiotic with which to treat Ira. The doctors agreed and so we are going that route. When Laura and I saw Ira on Wednesday he was swollen from all the trauma. He was tired and wasted. It's hard to see him like that.
We started working Ira off the CPAP on Tuesday. He lasted about 30 minutes on the nasal cannula on Tuesday and about 45 minutes on Wednesday. The goal is for Ira to be off the CPAP and on the nasal cannula eight hours a day. The neonatologist following Ira was pretty clear: weaning Ira off the CPAP and onto the nasal cannula is going to take a long time. The social worker came and spoke to me and asked if Laura and I were prepared to be around for another few months. Ugh!
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Once again, our friends Yael and Bryan wowed us with their generosity. They scored four Coldplay concert tix and invited us to go with them. So last night we got some brick oven pizza in Brooklyn and then headed to The Garden. We had floor seats and during the encore, Chris Martin got off the stage and worked his way back to the sound table. We were about 4 or 5 rows from him at that point. It rocked. Laura and I were able to loosen up and were a bit more touchy-feely than normal. We felt young again (okay, so 31 isn't that old but when you are surrounded by a bunch of 20 somethings...) and we genuinely had a good time. They ended the show with the track, Fix You. And as Martin and the rest of the audience belted out the chorus I couldn't help but think about Ira:
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
We started working Ira off the CPAP on Tuesday. He lasted about 30 minutes on the nasal cannula on Tuesday and about 45 minutes on Wednesday. The goal is for Ira to be off the CPAP and on the nasal cannula eight hours a day. The neonatologist following Ira was pretty clear: weaning Ira off the CPAP and onto the nasal cannula is going to take a long time. The social worker came and spoke to me and asked if Laura and I were prepared to be around for another few months. Ugh!
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Once again, our friends Yael and Bryan wowed us with their generosity. They scored four Coldplay concert tix and invited us to go with them. So last night we got some brick oven pizza in Brooklyn and then headed to The Garden. We had floor seats and during the encore, Chris Martin got off the stage and worked his way back to the sound table. We were about 4 or 5 rows from him at that point. It rocked. Laura and I were able to loosen up and were a bit more touchy-feely than normal. We felt young again (okay, so 31 isn't that old but when you are surrounded by a bunch of 20 somethings...) and we genuinely had a good time. They ended the show with the track, Fix You. And as Martin and the rest of the audience belted out the chorus I couldn't help but think about Ira:
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And so as the congregants at The Garden hoped along with Chris Martin that there is something out there that can fix us, I was praying to God that he would ignite Ira's bones and fix him.
posted by jch at
1:10 PM
5 Comments:
Joe, this is a beautiful post and we who read it are your congregation. Part One is depressing without Part Two; Part Two is meaningless without Part One. Contextual theology at its best: How is God with me here, now? How is my here and now helping me know God?
Thanks for sharing. Thank God for Yael and Bryan. We didn't even know to ask for them, and there they are.
peace -- Kate
I think I love Yael and Bryan as much as Sophia does -- but they will appreciate it if I don't show it in the same way (you know, 2 yr. old kisses and tickle games...).
Joe and Laura, I am so sorry that this is lasting so long. I know you're weary and heavy laden. I pray you will have rest, even now, in the middle of it all.
love you so much
Glad that you all were able to let your hair down and have some fun for a few moments. Thank you Yael and Bryan for helping our friends enjoy themselves! Ira, keep going! You are the "little engine that could! : )
Rebecca Leggett
Well Coldplay is nice and all, but i will make sure Ira comes to know U2 and then he will have a better understanding of why Coldplay wants to sound so much like U2 :). Anyway, I miss you guys and the young pros group alot since I'm here by myself. But continue the good fight for Ira.
love always,
CJE
My sweet bracelet says it all! I love you, Ira, and want so badly for you to get well so you can "come home" and be with your dad, your mom, and your sister....and of course, all of the rest of us who can't wait to kiss on you and tickle you...just like Yael and Bryan do to Sophia.
Yael, next time I'm in NY, I'm going to cook you and Joe and Laura another fried chicken dinner with all the trimmings! Hope Bryan can make it this time. I feel it's my southern duty to make sure you get your quota of grease in one meal! Thanks so much for your friendship to Joe and Laura and Sophia and Ira. We love you!
Joe and Laura, have a good day. May God please help Ira breathe easier on the nasal cannula so he doesn't have to struggle so much! And we pray that the infection goes away soon so our sweet boy doesn't have to be stuck any more!
I know we all know him as "Ira." But more and more recently I've been praying for "Little Top." (For those of you who didn't know one of Ira's namesakes, you should know that my daddy was never called "Ira" but was always called "Top.") So every day as I realize how hard Ira is fighting to grow and develop into a strong young man, I think of how hard daddy fought to be and stay strong throughout his life....through an early childhood disease called "St. Vitas Dance"????....through World War II...through good and bad business times....through a wonderful marriage to a Godly woman...and through fathering three girls and finally "his boy!" God bless you, Little Top!
Love,
Mom/Gram/Glo
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