FINALLY FINISHED!
I know it's been a while...again...
I'm not sure how many times I'll say that...
Anywho...small update and then I'll show the pictures....
WARNING! If you're light-hearted about children and disorders...DON'T READ. Skip past the first and second paragraphs and read on to the next and the pictures below it:
As some of you know, my cousin Leah is due for a c-section on July 16. She's having twins but one of them has anencephaly and not expected to live for more than a week. Anencephaly is a mutation that sometimes occur during the first trimester. Both of the babies were named though. Carson and Jason. Carson is the healthy boy and Jason is the unhealthy boy (the names were picked prior to finding out there was something actually wrong). Jason is missing the top half of the brain and skull. He is considered not viable due to the incompleteness of the brain. He also has only 3 instead 4 valves of the heart and there is a hole in one of the chambers. It's heartbreaking to see because technically Jason is alive but only involuntarily. He kicks like a baby, is growing like a baby, but he will not be a complete baby by the end.
It really breaks my heart and I'm trying to drum up enough courage to hold Jason before he dies. I'm a twin myself and I don't think I could bear it if something happened to the only twin brother I have. But...I'm there to support Leah. She is the biggest trooper I have ever known. She's doing everything she possibly can to give those babies the best chance to survive until the c-section. Because they are twins, they run the risk of cord entanglement and other complications. So far so good. She's at UC Davis on 24 hour monitoring until the due date. Carson is healthy and on time as a normal pregnancy would be. The only risk is the cord entanglement but the doctors are ready if something starts to happen. They can do the surgery in 5 minutes if they have to...amazing...
Anyway. I AM getting to the lighter side of this post. I've been soul searching quite a bit these past months and I decided I wanted to do a mural on the wall of the nursery for Carson, and I'm putting together a memorial shadow box for Jason. No one asked me to and I wanted to do it. I think I needed the therapy desperately. My stress level has been high since the start of the year and I for one need to calm down before I get myself in trouble. Usually doing art does the trick. I knew it was a big undertaking but I'm determined and I believe Carson will be home soon to look at it from his crib.
The nursery is set up Disney and St. Lois Cardinal baseball style. Dad's the baseball fan, and mom is the Disney fan. Soooo...I combined the two and came up with this...
CLOSE UP MICKEY - TOP
CLOSE UP GOOFY - BOTTOM LEFT
CLOSE UP MICKY - BOTTOM CENTER
CLOSE UP GOOFY - BOTTOM RIGHT
After finally finishing today. I feel really good. Better than I have in a while. In 10 days, we'll be welcoming more family members. I'm not sure what will happen. Anything can happen, but I can handle it.
Thanks for tuning in. Signing out...
I'm not sure how many times I'll say that...
Anywho...small update and then I'll show the pictures....
WARNING! If you're light-hearted about children and disorders...DON'T READ. Skip past the first and second paragraphs and read on to the next and the pictures below it:
As some of you know, my cousin Leah is due for a c-section on July 16. She's having twins but one of them has anencephaly and not expected to live for more than a week. Anencephaly is a mutation that sometimes occur during the first trimester. Both of the babies were named though. Carson and Jason. Carson is the healthy boy and Jason is the unhealthy boy (the names were picked prior to finding out there was something actually wrong). Jason is missing the top half of the brain and skull. He is considered not viable due to the incompleteness of the brain. He also has only 3 instead 4 valves of the heart and there is a hole in one of the chambers. It's heartbreaking to see because technically Jason is alive but only involuntarily. He kicks like a baby, is growing like a baby, but he will not be a complete baby by the end.
It really breaks my heart and I'm trying to drum up enough courage to hold Jason before he dies. I'm a twin myself and I don't think I could bear it if something happened to the only twin brother I have. But...I'm there to support Leah. She is the biggest trooper I have ever known. She's doing everything she possibly can to give those babies the best chance to survive until the c-section. Because they are twins, they run the risk of cord entanglement and other complications. So far so good. She's at UC Davis on 24 hour monitoring until the due date. Carson is healthy and on time as a normal pregnancy would be. The only risk is the cord entanglement but the doctors are ready if something starts to happen. They can do the surgery in 5 minutes if they have to...amazing...
Anyway. I AM getting to the lighter side of this post. I've been soul searching quite a bit these past months and I decided I wanted to do a mural on the wall of the nursery for Carson, and I'm putting together a memorial shadow box for Jason. No one asked me to and I wanted to do it. I think I needed the therapy desperately. My stress level has been high since the start of the year and I for one need to calm down before I get myself in trouble. Usually doing art does the trick. I knew it was a big undertaking but I'm determined and I believe Carson will be home soon to look at it from his crib.
The nursery is set up Disney and St. Lois Cardinal baseball style. Dad's the baseball fan, and mom is the Disney fan. Soooo...I combined the two and came up with this...
CLOSE UP MICKEY - TOP
CLOSE UP GOOFY - BOTTOM LEFT
CLOSE UP MICKY - BOTTOM CENTER
CLOSE UP GOOFY - BOTTOM RIGHT
After finally finishing today. I feel really good. Better than I have in a while. In 10 days, we'll be welcoming more family members. I'm not sure what will happen. Anything can happen, but I can handle it.
Thanks for tuning in. Signing out...