Two Weeks and Counting.....

We’ve hit a new record of sorts. Tomorrow we mark two weeks out of the hospital, the longest amount of time Ethan has spent at home since early June.  These two weeks have been full of adjustments and accommodations.

While in the hospital, we were essentially leading double lives: our lives at Cincinnati Children’s with Ethan, and our lives at home with Zak and Elyse. It was very difficult in the early weeks being in one place without wondering how things were going in the other. After time, we found we were able to focus and be present (somewhat) on where we were. This would not have been possible without the tremendous love and support from

! All of the help we received in the way of daytime visitors and overnight friends allowed us to keep Zak and Elyse on a “normalized” routine and also provided us time to recharge our batteries. Now that we are home, all under one roof, we are surrounded by our new life 24/7. There’s no separating the pieces. Couple this with round-the-clock nursing care (for the time being) and it is a totally different lifestyle than the one we were used to. We are adjusting…

Ethan has made good strides in his schedule at home this week and overall this second week has been better than the first one. He’s been laughing—a lot—every day we hear his beautiful voice through his laugh. We just haven’t been given the Cliff Notes on what is so funny. We’ll take it, though, as the sound is contagious and fills our hearts and heads with his music. He went to therapies this week and I was so pleased to see a couple of our former “neighbors” from the Rehab Floor—they have made amazing progress and I pray for the same for Ethan.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Zakary’s 17^th birthday. February 14th?

Valentine's Day, what's that? We know it as Zak's birthday! It’s hard to believe the changes we’ve seen in him this past year; we are very proud of him. Scott came home tonight with a beautiful Edible Arrangements basket, wishing me a happy LABOR day! What a great guy, I love that man.

Here is to hearts and strength,

Alexia and Scott