Saturday, November 10, 2007

Mojo, juju and fate


It's a funny word and we're still getting used to it: "Progress."

There wasn't much during 89 days with Will. But a glorious, straight line out of the hospital is developing for Hope. She's keeping herself warm and graduated to a big-girl crib. She's doing so well with her increased feedings that her IV is gone and there's talk the supplemental tube may be removed from her nose. And the fourth echocardiogram of her heart Friday spotted no new causes for concern, so the next one isn't planned for two weeks. In the whirlwind that's been the last 10 days, that might as well be next year.

Friday was Mo's 32nd birthday. It was blissfully low-key -- if you can discount the half-hour of dread we spent during the echocardiogram wondering if everything would go wrong. It didn't. Instead, Mo held Hope for about six hours, read her stories, doted on every wheeze and hiccup and micromanaged her husband's bottle feeding techniques. That sounds about right: Happy birthday, indeed.

It was a nice to get through the day without any drama. Three years ago, the Red Sox had just won the World Series, my mother was visiting and we had a child in the hospital who seemed to be improving. Will's progress was halted on Mo's 29th birthday when he stopped breathing for the first of three days. There were subsequent fits and starts, but he never really recovered after that.

So Friday was a big emotional hurdle to clear. I avoided posting yesterday in fear of jinxing ourselves. We realize all this talk of mojo, juju and fate makes us seem like we're two steps shy of sacrificing a chicken, but it works for us. And hey, Hope was born on Halloween.

We also know these comparisons to her brother aren't entirely fair to Hope. She's her own person and she's healthier than her brother. They're simply yardsticks to measure her progress. As much as we loved Will, we realized early on he wasn't long for this world.

That's not the case for Hope. We realize there still could be setbacks, but lately, we've allowed our fears to become more pedestrian: "We're going to have a newborn home. What are we going to do? Our lives will never be the same."

They won't, and thank God for that.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hooray for Hope! Keep up the good work sweetie! Mommy, Daddy and Lulu are so anxious to bring you home! Love and lots of hugs!

Brooklyn Salt said...

This is great news. We're very excited about Hope's progress.

As far as the mojo is concerned, we will do some investigating for you. If you need a live chicken, don't hesitate to ask.

And finally, Happy Birthday Mo!

Sue Burzynski Bullard said...

Happy Belated B-day, Maureen! I am so happy that things are going well. She's so cute. And you two deserve the best - it looks like you have it!

Anonymous said...

Grandma Kurth is missing Hope and her parents like crazy, and she's only been back in Maine for three hours!

MoJo, keep up the good mojo. You do great work. Hug the little one, and each other, extra for me.

Love you very much!

Jen said...

Well, my parents were married on Halloween 37 years ago, and they're still going strong! (And they haven't had to sacrifice any chickens.) Seems like a great birthday to me.

So glad to hear of Hope's progress.

-Jen Mrozowski

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! She's so precious!!! Can't wait to kiss on her!!! Happy birthday MO!!

Anonymous said...

So happy to hear that Hope is doing so well. Sounds like a perfect b-day indeed. we will keep you all in our prayers.

Love,
Mike, Jamie & Connor & Garrett