A picnic & Taye's new trick

We had an awesome time this past Saturday at a picnic at Kensington for adoptive Ethiopian families. Although we knew most of the people there, we were able to meet a few new people as well. We were undecided about going, but once we saw how well Taye was recovering we knew it wouldn't be a problem. It was a perfect afternoon and it was fun to see all the kids playing together. We're so fortunate to be connected to all these people.


Taye and his new friend Daniel


Mikias with Samson and Zachary


Mikias getting some help from Sofanit in the sack race

I also need to mention how impressive Taye is doing. Within the past couple days he's even got a few new tricks...most significantly sitting himself up. Now his method isn't the same one he's been working on at physical therapy, but it gets the job done. He's also just started clapping his hands together. We're so happy that's he's making these improvements considering where he was a couple months ago. Judging from this video Mikias is also very, very excited.

Home Again

After being transferred to the pediatric floor this morning, we spent most of the day waiting for the neurosurgeon to come and give us the OK to go home. Everyone that came in a saw him said Taye looked great, but we needed the neurosurgeon to officially discharge us. Finally, around 5pm today Taye was discharged and we are now home!! It's hard to believe that just yesterday morning we ate breakfast here...a busy couple of days to be sure.

The rest of the week for us will be good. Joanna has time off work and the best part is no more doctors appointments or therapy appointments to go to for the rest of the week What a treat! Hopefully, this will give us some time to get back on track.


Taye sleeping post-op yesterday...with his big hat


Taye tonight at home showing off his interesting haircut

Moving along nicely

As I'm writing this both Joanna and Taye are taking a morning nap. Last night was a bit restless, probably because Taye slept so much yesterday during the day. He didn't really sleep for a long time in a row last night...just 1 - 1.5 hours at a time. But that's OK because he seems to be doing really well. Yesterday afternoon he started back on his normal eating schedule and has been eating like normal ever since. He also doesn't seem to be in too much pain and has only been on Tylenol recently. I think most of his fussiness so far is just related to all the wires he has to contend with when he wants to move around.

So, it sounds like we'll definitely be leaving the ICU today to either go home or to the regular pediatric floor. We'll have a better idea once the doctor makes rounds today. I'm hoping for home myself just as long as they think his pain is under control and there are no signs of infection.

It's amazing to me that this has seemed so easy for us. Of course compared to April's stay this is much less urgent and, unfortunately, we have a comfort level with it now.

A familiar place

Taye is now in ICU in the exact same room we were in back in April. It's kind of strange being here again, but there's also some comfort in knowing the people here and how everything works.

Taye was pretty fussy when Joanna and I first saw him in recovery. He was extremely hungry and sucked down a lot of water and a little formula. It seems he has some pain, but now he's drugged up so he's sleeping comfortably. We'll definitely have our hands full when he completely wakes up though. When he was awake earlier he was twisting himself in the IV and monitor cables and rolling over all over the place. Not sure what we'll do to contain him, but we'll figure something out.

One of the things the neurosurgeon was talking about earlier was how the skull piece that was reinserted was actually dead bone. Once the skull fuses itself back together after a few months that piece should come back to life...amazing! There's already been talk of us going home tomorrow depending on how well Taye is doing and how well all the systems are working. We'll see.

Surgery complete

The neurosurgeon just came out to let us know that the surgery is done and everything went well. We haven't seen Taye yet...it sounds like he'll been in recovery for a little bit and then we'll head up to ICU. But, everything was successful and the bone was put in place. We're anxious to see him and are so happy that everything has gone smoothly so far.

Let's try this again

After spending a fun weekend in Chicago for Irene's wedding (fun...except for several meltdowns by Mikias), we're now geared up for Taye's 2nd surgery tomorrow morning. I think we're all very anxious to get this over with. It seems like this had been lingering out there forever, so it will be good to get it behind us and to continue to move through the healing process.

It should all happen at 8am tomorrow morning and we're hoping that this time there won't be any delays. I feel so bad that Taye is sleeping so peacefully right completely oblivious to what awaits him in the morning. Please send your prayers his way.

We'll update when we can tomorrow.

Mikias jumping in Chicago

Taye's last mohawk pic before we "evened out" his hair tonight

Taye's new cut...too bad it will only last one day

By the way Taye's teeth hurt...but he has 1 now!

Meds and the Lake

Last week, we ended up taking Taye back to the pediatrician because it seemed like he was working on an eye infection and we wanted to make sure we would have time to clear it up before surgery. The doctor wasn't sure if it was an infection or not...but we ended up with eye drops anyway just to be safe. Also, a slew of other things were found that wouldn't normally be a big deal...but they are since we're trying to avoid missing surgery again. So, as a result we're now giving Taye five different medications. This isn't ideal to us at all, but we're just trying to get that surgery to happen in a week and don't want to give them any reason to cancel it. And, of course, the eye thing hasn't cleared up so now we're off to an ophthalmologist tomorrow. My life is now completely consumed by all this nonsense.

This weekend, we spent four days up north with all of my family. My Grandpa's memorial service was on Friday and it was excellent. The rest of the time we spent up on Heart Lake. We stayed in the house next door (actually 12 of us did) and everyone else was in my grandparents house. It was a blast. The weather was perfect and we spent a lot of time down at the lake swimming...and working a bit too. At night we just hung out with everyone and talked. I can't think of something my Grandpa would have wanted more than to have the entire family up at the lake enjoying themselves.

My cousin Jessica getting ready for a boat ride w/ the kids

Taye's first swim in Heart Lake!

Mom & Aunt Jan w/ Taye

Enjoying coney dogs (one of Grandpa's favorites!)

Benjamin, Isaac, Dad, & Uncle Bob working on the beach

...and then a hot air balloon landed on our house

This picture has not been altered in any way.

Well, maybe it didn't land on our house, but it certainly caused a lot of excitement in the neighborhood last night.

Back on

We have a new date for Taye's surgery...July 6th. It kind of stinks that it is so far away again, but it does allow us to participate in other events (my grandpa's memorial service & a wedding in Chicago) over the next few weekends. It also helps that I don't have a date to return to work now, so we won't have to worry about that. We were already having discussions about what to do come August anyway.

Other than that, I'm now adjusting to having two kids with me all the time. We had still been sending Mikias to daycare a couple times a week, but that is now done for the summer. It would help if it stopped raining constantly. Mikias really, really needs to go outside and I'm running out of non-TV indoor entertainment options.

Things that make you go hmm....

Well today is a new day!

Benjamin took Taye to the pediatrician. She said he is not congested. He is just Taye. So, we are now back to trying to schedule surgery. No details yet. Hmm....

Benjamin was also able to do what he needed to do to sign up for unemployment. So, he is now being paid to stay home. Not a bad gig! Hmmm....

I went back to work today as my teacher pals were off. As you can tell, this is a first for me. Hmm...

I don't feel like I am stressed, but the dentist told me last week I am grinding my teeth and I have a twitch in my eye that won't go away. Hmmm...

Thanks for all the phone calls and posts...we really are doing fine.....just find ourselves pondering often about recent events. Hmmm...

False start

To say that today has not gone as planned is an understatement.

Joanna and I made sure Taye was fasting, we packed up for a hospital stay, we made it to the hospital on time and into the pre-op area....then things stalled. The anesthesiologist heard Taye's congestion (which he's had since we met him in April) and thought that he was coming down with a cold. We explained that he's had this checked out and everything has been OK. But, the doctor said he was being conservative and cancelled the surgery. He was concerned about him having an infection that would cause issues post-op. This is a little frustrating since I think that this is nothing...but we understand if it is a problem. Needless to say we now don't know when surgery is. We have to do some follow up w/ our pediatrician to resolve this and hopefully reschedule soon.

The most frustrating part is that my grandpa's memorial service was scheduled around this surgery so that we'd have time before we had to travel up north.

And, on my way home I got a call from my work and I am now laid off.

What a weird day...what a weird couple days.

Today and Tomorrow

These past few days have been full of emotion. My grandpa, who has had Alzheimer's disease for many years now, has been dying for several days. He passed away this morning. Fortunately, we were able to spend some time with him during these days. In fact, yesterday we took the boys to see grandpa for one last time. Although all he was doing was sleeping, Mikias talked to him and held his hand. And then when we left my mom helped Mikias put the sign of the cross on grandpa's forehead.

I'll definitely miss my grandpa. Although the disease had already taken so much from him over the years, he remained as charming and personable as ever. So many of my fondest memories of my childhood involve the things grandpa, Peter, and I did. Luckily, I'll always have those memories and they will always be a part of me.


Grandma & Grandpa singing and dancing - Christmas 2006


Grandpa meets Mikias - June 2007


Of course, amidst all this, Taye is still scheduled for surgery at 8am tomorrow morning. Even though there shouldn't be any issues at all, it does still make us a bit anxious. The surgery will last around 2 hours and he'll likely be in ICU at least for tomorrow night. From the neurosurgeon's estimation he'll probably remain in the hospital for a few days. We pray that everything is routine and that this is the last time we'll stay in the hospital for a LONG time.

Hopefully, we'll post updates on here after surgery so everyone is in the loop.

Catching up

I'm attempting to "catch up" here on several weeks of news and activities. Definitely the reason we haven't been on here much lately is that our schedule has been pretty packed with doctor appointments and the general craziness that revolves around managing two kids.

First of all, Taye continues to do exceptionally well. He had a follow-up CT scan a couple weeks ago to see how things looked and to determine if he's ready for the second surgery. The CT showed that he still had some accumulated fluid, but nothing to be concerned about. The brain swelling has definitely subsided and, as gross as it sounds, we can actually feel the edge of the hole in his skull when we feel that soft spot. Also, the brain mid-line continues to improve and get closer to center. As a result, the surgery is a "go" and is scheduled for Monday morning. This surgery will just replace the section of skull that was originally removed and possibly drain some of that excess fluid. The neurosurgeon indicated that we'll probably be in the hospital 2 - 3 days. The one thing that will be watched closely is whether an infection develops from reinserting the bone...even this is not likely though.

We've had a couple good doctor visits to some specialists. First we saw a physical medicine doctor who directs the physical / occupational therapy for Taye. She was extremely encouraged by what she saw. It seems that most of the gross motor skill issues we're dealing with in therapy are a result of Taye's stay in an orphanage and not necessarily from the injury. Of course there are some other things that are injury related too. Overall, she indicated that Taye would be in some sort of physical therapy until he's 2. But, again, she thinks that he's doing great and will not have long-term physical issues.

To supplement the PT/OT that we're currently doing through Beaumont, we also got hooked up with the Oxford schools and some of the services they offer. After thoroughly evaluating Taye and creating a big report on him, they determined that he is eligible to receive PT & OT through the schools here. The only thing is that they stop services for the summer, but in the fall he'll probably go to PT/OT here once a week. So we'll probably just use this to supplement what we're doing through Beaumont starting in September.

This week we saw the neurologist. This was another very encouraging visit. Since there haven't been any issues with seizures and since he's on such a low dose of the medication, Taye will likely be weened off those meds soon. The neurologist wanted to wait until after surgery to stop the medication, but she thinks that he'll do just fine.

In terms of Taye's new "tricks"...he has several. He's started babbling a lot....dadada, bababa, stuff like that. This is good news because a lot of times developmental delays show up in speech. Most importantly, Taye has started to drag himself across the floor...I'd like to say "crawl" or "skooch" but it's definitely a "drag". His right arm does all the work right now and he's very successful at getting where he wants to go. The physical therapist wants us to encourage him to use his left arm too, obviously, and he loudly protests when we intervene. We'll get there eventually, but this is a good start.

Probably Taye's most significant trick is weight gain. He's now up to 22 lbs....just 4 lbs lighter than Mikias. He gained 5 lbs. in 6 weeks after leaving the hospital. Looking back at some of the pictures from early April, we think he was definitely a bit malnourished when we got him and he's catching up now. He may be the "younger" brother, but I don't think he'll be the "little" brother for long.

Whew...I think that's all the Taye news.

As for Mikias...he's loving the warmer weather. He loves being outside and throws a fit when it's time to come in. I took him to the zoo a few weeks ago with a bunch of people from his daycare and we had an awesome time. Of course Mikias had so much fun and used up so much energy that he eventually fell asleep in the stroller.

It seems like recently Mikias has begun to talk constantly and I've noticed he has a very, very good memory. He puts pretty good sentences together too. And he talks a lot about Taye and to Taye. He seems very proud to be a big brother. Of course inevitably Mikias seems to bring up the hospital, but I think it's because he had such a fun time playing in the play area on the children's' floor.

Last weekend we went up north to the cottage. It was really, really nice to get away for a few days and very fun to be up on the lake. We didn't do much other than just sitting around and playing at the park...but it was just what we needed.

Joanna & Taye hiking at Bald Mountain park (Taye's 1st hike)

Benjamin & Mikias hiking too

Mikias' mad bike riding skills (note the helmet protecting for head injury!)

Benjamin & Mikias mowing the lawn (for 45 min...seriously!!)

Mikias & Taye chilling up north

Joanna & Mikias on Heart Lake

Taye & Papa up north

Mikias' gotcha day gift...Benjamin played with it more

Mikias' Gotcha Day!

I know that we've got a million things to update on here with all the new developments, various doctors' appointments, and preparing for surgery.  Needless to say, we've been extremely busy trying to balance our new normal.

But, we'll put all that aside for now, because today is a very, very important day for our family.  It's Mikias' Gotcha Day!  Two years ago today we met Mikias in Addis Ababa and he joined our family.  We can't even imagine life without this awesome little guy.  He has enriched our lives so much.

Happy Gotcha Day little man.

Benjamin, Joanna, & Mikias - June 8, 2007

Mikias - June 8, 2009

In his own words...

Our new normal...for the time being

The past couple of weeks we have been settling in to our new way of doing things. I believe they call it...survival...yikes! All in all, things have been going well, but I won't lie and say that it hasn't been hard. We certainly did not anticipate how difficult it would be to juggle the number of doctors appointments and/or consultations we continue to have with Taye. Not too mention, the transition from one child to two.

I can sum that last sentence up in a phone call I received from Benjamin as I was driving home from work one day last week. I believe our conversation was "hey, you gotta hear this". When he held the phone up, to what I imagined to be an interesting scene, all I heard was one child screaming until he took a breath so the other would "outshine". Oh my! When I pulled in the driveway, I remember getting out of the car, taking a deep breath and diving into the role that meets me as soon as I walk in. (what happened to that transition time after work....or a nap?)

Benjamin has been playing the "stay at home dad" role as determined prior to completing the adoption. When we made this decision prior to the adoption, I know he was excited as I was fortunate in being able to take the first leave with Mikias. With my new job of working until 4:30, he certainly got more than originally bargained for. Although I know it must be difficult, Benjamin is doing amazing.

His "new normal"...Monday-home both boys. Tuesday- home with both boys & then PT/OT afternoon Wednesday- Mikias at daycare with the tumblesbus while every other week an ultrasound or CT Scan for Taye... leading up to surgery. Thursday- Mikias at daycare while Benjamin takes Taye to PT/OT followed by the ever relaxing Friday of being home with both boys. Last week was my first full week back at work and by Friday night we both were exhausted. But, hey....we are not complaining. We have a good thing going on over here with nightly walks (sometimes to the park) in which I can't think of any other place to be in the world.

Taye continues to keep us smiling. I have to admit that when people ask me how he is doing, I would love to say very confidently "good". I find myself so guarded and protective of him as I still feel like we walk on uncharted territory. His PT sessions go well. He is definitely gaining strength in his mid-section as we only need to allow him a "lean" for sitting. This is an improvement. He more comfortably rolls over on both sides (including the "skull-less" side). OT has been more difficult as he falls asleep often and struggles a bit with attending to things. We are in process of identifying if he may have a "sensory processing disorder".

His daily routine is improving as we are actually able to get him down for a nap and his night sleep has longer intervals. He certainly continues to eat like a champ. His latest endeavor was sweet potatoes! We take all of this as a sign that he is attaching to us and starting to feel more comfortable.

Last week his ultrasound indicated that the fluid found on his brain noted in the last CT scan is still there, but not growing. It looks like we are still on track to have his surgery June 15th. I would say my favorite growth seen thus far, is that he appears to recognize his name "Taye". It kind of feels like he is healing and growing into this new name. Certainly, Sintayehu (his middle name) will always hold a place for us, but Taye certainly has a nice ring to it...especially when he looks over and smiles.

Lately, we have been setting up follow-up appointments with various entities. We have a follow up appt later in the summer for his eyes, a neurology appt early June to determine a plan for the current seizure medication he is on, and this Wednesday is the evaluation for "early on" services offered through the school district. For the latter, he will have a whole team of early-on educators to determine what, if any, services to provide to ensure the earliest intervention possible in preparation for school. Honestly, the idea of an IEP for my 8 month old scares me, but the fact that this is even possible is extraordinary. At very least, we will have very complete record of his progression. Honestly, I think he deserves all this attention. He is making up for his first 6 months. Besides the fact, he is super cute and you just want to love on him all the time.

We also have a date set for our "welcome home" visit from the adoption agency. I almost forgot we had something to do to officially complete our adoption. I am pretty sure this was already to have taken place, but our agency has been great with giving us space. The US Gov't...well, not so great as his green card arrived with his name spelled SintayeMu.

Overall, Taye, aka... Sintayehu , SintayeMu or our little miracle still reminds us daily how much we have to be thankful for. That feeling is still so fresh...

When life gives you an uneven haircut...

...make a mohawk!!



Actually, the saying has something to do with lemons & lemonade...but it's the same idea. We've been thinking about doing this since Taye's surgery and we finally did it. There was no way we were going to completely lose the long curls since they were one of our favorite features. Since he'll get shaved on the one side again for his surgery in June, we thought Taye should try a mohawk for a while.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Joanna! I couldn't ask for a better mommy to our two little boys. I know this has been a trying month, but you continue to do a fantastic job raising our sons.

Thank you

There are a zillion of people we want to thank for helping us through the last few weeks. All the people that have made their way into our lives have helped tremendously.

So, thank you to:

• Our parents who have been by our side every step of the way...they were with us every frightening moment in the hospital and have helped every single day since. They spent nights in the hospital with us, allowed us to take breaks, and have been unbelievably supportive at every turn.


• Our siblings and their families. Especially Caroline (for helping w/ Mikias and opening her house to everyone), Peter (for driving from Grand Rapids and spending a night in the hospital), Stephen (for driving in from NC, his copious note-taking, overnight hospital stays and fantastic babysitting skills) and Alison (for flying in from TX to spend time with us in the hospital)


• The amazing staff at Troy Beaumont emergency room. Once the problem was identified, the entire ER seemed to spring into action to help with Taye. The coordination it took to start working on Taye, set up the helicopter transport, and coordinate w/ the surgeons was amazing.


• Dr. Zakalik, the neurosurgeon at Royal Oak Beaumont. His expertise and experience was much needed and led to an extremely successful surgery. All of his comments and reassurances since have also eased our minds.


• Every single doctor and nurse in the pediatric ICU. In previous experience w/ hospitals, I've never come across a group so dedicated, skilled, and compassionate as these people are. Everyone could be relied on at any time and they always made us feel informed and comfortable in the week we spent there.


• The boys' pediatrician, Dr. Sampath. She came to the hospital immediately following the surgery and called us every single day we were in the hospital. She was in constant contact with the doctors at Beaumont and was able to re-explain some things to us.


• All the specialists that have played a role in Taye's treatment and recovery so far - ophthalmologists, neurologists, physical & occupational therapists. We are impressed with everyone we encounter and their ability to evaluate and apply treatment to an infant.


• Every visitor we had in the hospital...from long-time friends to people we've never met. Any distraction we could get from constantly staring at ventilators and monitors was very helpful.


• Those that brought us food. Several people brought us food in the hospital (I mean you can only survive on the cafeteria for so long). Since we've been home, several neighbors have also brought meals to us.


• Robin (Mikias' daycare) for helping to keep Mikias' schedule as normal as possible through all of this. It helped Joanna and I to know that Mikias was in a familiar environment playing with his friends as usual.


• Everyone else that helped watch Mikias, pick up Mikias, feed Mikias, bring Mikias to the hospital, and stay the night at our house with Mikias. Again, knowing he was in good hands took a load off our minds.


• People that sent us cards, emails, voicemails, text messages, and posted messages on this blog. Just knowing the number of people that supported us and were thinking of us helped a ton. We actually kept our computer on in the hospital room and would constantly read all the new messages.


• All that prayed for us and added Taye's name to prayer lists. I get the impression that Taye was prayed for in various places all over the country...that's powerful stuff.


• Everyone that hasn't met Taye (yet) but have still included him and our family in their thoughts. It's amazing to us how automatically this little boy from across the world was welcomed to our family.

There's probably some person or group I'm accidentally forgetting, but please know that our family so deeply appreciates all that everyone has done for us.

A week at a time

We have decided that if we take each week at a time, it is easier to digest than looking much further than that. A "week" is certainly a graduation from the original "minute by minute", "hour by hour" and "day by day" basis from the accident. Additionally, much of our conversations still surround the "wait and see" approach, which certainly can't happen on an hour by hour basis.

Anyhow, this past week was full of specialist type appointments and arrangements. We have started to call this phase two of the recovery and healing process. We learned a lot this week and have been in the process of continuing to set up supplementary services and appointments.

Tuesday we met with a pediatric opthamologist who was fantastic. Although difficult to dialate eyes as dark as Taye's, the doctors were able to see enough to make some conclusions. First, both his eyes are working and seeing. The retinal hemorrhages we were concerned about before appear to be outside the center field of vision, which is a good thing. The only noticeable issue is the fact that Taye has lost a field of vision as he looks to the right. Essentially he doesn't have peripheral vision on his right side. The doctor did say we have to "wait and see" if this returns and then went on to tell us how the body tries to compensate for this. Very interesting.

Wednesday morning, Taye had a CT Scan and MRI. He had to be sedated for both of these, so we were back to not eating, trying to soothe without food and waiting room time. However, we did have an appointment with the Neurosurgeon later that afternoon and were able to see the results. The CT Scan of his brain shows the swelling has started to subside as noted by the clearer or more defined portion of the brain which has the damage. The neurosurgeon went over the picture with us and showed us which portion of the brain relates to the functioning within Taye's body. Again, very interesting. He did note that there was some fluid (not blood) on the brain, but indicated he wasn't concerned.

The MRI was ordered as a result of the skeletal survey within the hospital. Taye seems to have a missing or very small disk between his L4 and L5 vertebrae. We are looking into if this is congenital or if, by chance, he had spinal tuberculous or ----itis (can't remember the name).

Anyhow, the conversation with the neurosurgeon was very good. He did indicate to us that in his 20 some years of practice, he hasn't often seen a bleed as large as Taye's was with the result that we have. He said, "he's a lucky guy". I think we are more than lucky. As we were leaving, the office staff told us about the day of the accident through their eyes. Essentially, rather abruptly, both receptionists were on 2 phones, while our surgeon was also fielding calls and pages to coordinate the emergency surgery. At one point, they heard the helicopter over head to which our surgeon said "there's my baby". I am glad that Taye is his baby too!

Thursday we had both his initial and evaluative physical and occupational therapy appointments. We were very impressed with the pediatric facility and professionalism shown by the staff. We start PT and OT twice a week from here on out. I think Taye will benefit greatly from this! It is weird because there is starting to become a blend of where his "delayed skills" are coming from. Certainly, the effects of the accident are there, but we've also had many conversations about his environmental upbringing in the orphanage. Either way, we are in the right place for this.

Friday we spent the day setting up follow up appointments with Taye's neurologist, rehabilitation specialist and began the first steps to applying for the early on program for more PT/OT at the home. The biggest date nailed down is June 15th, which is the scheduled surgery date to replace the skeletal bone flap missing. It feels good to have a target date.

Overall, we have started to settle in to our "new normal". We had some big things happen around here this week as Mikias held Taye for the first time. He also was very helpful in giving Taye his pacifier and even assisted me in feeding him one day. I think he is catching on this big brother idea. Best of all, we have been able to go on walks outside and have recently not had anyone sleeping in Taye's room with him. We are all taking baby steps....just one week at a time.

8 x 2

One month ago today we departed on an 8-day journey to Ethiopia to pick up our son. Four days ago we arrived home after another 8-day "journey" with our new son through the most difficult days of our lives. Of course, neither of these journeys will ever be over for us and they will definitely be something that define our family forever. I wouldn't expect to ever experience a month for the rest of my life that would have such dramatic highs and lows. We feel so fortunate to be looking back over the past couple weeks knowing that Taye continues to make amazing strides. Coming back to our house on Thursday kind of felt like a "do-over" of our arrival with him on April 4th. I almost forgot that we had him in our house with us for 11 days before heading to the hospital.

Now that we've begun to digest the situation a bit more, we've been able to reflect a bit on the last couple weeks. Of course, most of our reflection seems to lead us back to April 15th. We've discussed how the timing of everything seemed to lead us to the best possible outcome imaginable on that day. From our decision of when to go to the pediatrician and when to go to ER, to the amazing coordination it took to get Taye the hospital he needed to be immediately. Any one of these things could have gone differently and very bad for us...and it's hard not to dwell on that...but we are grateful beyond words with how everything was handled.

As for Taye right now, he continues to do well. We're obviously a bit paranoid about the large soft spot that now exists on the side of his head, but it doesn't seem to phase him too much. He's been on the ground rolling over and only a few times has it been painful for him. We're getting more comfortable with handling him, but we're very aware when Mikias gets near him because there's that fear that he will fall on him or play too rough. So far so good! There was some concern that he would have anxiety about being upright and would feel off balance because of the brain shift, but he hasn't been bothered at all. What a trooper this kid is! Joanna commented that he is the strongest person she knows...and he's only 7-months old.

It seems now that we're starting to deal with some of the things we were working on a few weeks ago again...getting on a good eating/sleeping schedule, finding ways to comfort and soothe him, etc. There are so many considerations with attachment and bonding that were (obviously) thrown out the window while we were in the hospital, so we've been making an effort in that area too.

This week is extremely busy. We had an appointment with the pediatrician on Saturday. Tomorrow we see the ophthalmologist to re-check areas of concern in his eyes. On Wednesday Taye gets a follow-up CT scan and an MRI (with anesthesia) and then sees the neurosurgeon in the afternoon. I think his stitches will be removed this day too. Then on Thursday begins regular PT and OT appointments...these will start as twice per week and may be increased. Needless to say, Joanna is off from work all this week. Hopefully, we can gauge from all these appointments what our schedule will be and work from there.

I'll work on getting some more pictures of the boys up here so everyone can see how good Taye is doing. We continue to need your prayers as we travel through the recovery process and come to terms with the trauma we experienced. I know that coming so close to losing our little boy has been a drain on us mentally, physically, and emotionally, but every day has been better than the one before. And it's hard not to feel hope and happiness for the future when Taye flashes us one of his big smiles!

Shh...Taye's sleeping

....at home.

Moving forward...and moving rooms

As of this morning, Taye is officially out of ICU and in the regular pediatric area here at Beaumont! Last night, Taye slept great (lucky Joanna). This morning, the resident doctor came in and said that Taye would be moving and the move was already done by the time I arrived at the hospital around 10:30. So, all of the things we've accumulated during the past week in his room had to be moved just a short distance down the hall. Needless to say, we're thrilled.

Also this morning the neurosurgeon (who had done Taye's surgery) did an evaluation and thought he was doing great. In fact, it sounds like we may actually be heading home within the next couple of days should things continue to positively progress. Taye will have to come back in a month or so (depending on his progress) to have the portion of skull reinserted. That will mean more surgery, but we're very pleased to have this surgeon on Taye's case...he is excellent. And he's been genuinely interested in our story, even to the point of having public relations at Beaumont talk to us about our experiences. In fact, they're coming in the morning to interview us.

Taye continued to do great today. He had a couple of "appointments" today with the physical therapist and occupational therapist. We were able to discuss with them what to do when we go home and what to concentrate on to help Taye regain strength and control. They were incredibly helpful. They had him sitting up in a chair (something we'll continue to work on with him) and he actually seemed to enjoy it. Because of his injury and the subsequent brain shift, being upright can be scary for him because he constantly feels off balance. It's relieving to see him continue to do little things that he did before the accident...his nonstop motorboat sounds, shaking his head, etc. I really missed those little things in him during the past week. And, of course, he continues to smile at us and we love that!

This afternoon, on the recommendation of the neurosurgeon, we took Taye for a wagon ride around the halls and out to the children's play area here. He seemed so stimulated looking at all the new "scenery". His eye movement is getting really good and that was very obvious during the ride.

This evening in our daily talk with our pediatrician, we discussed a few things that needed to be done / looked at before heading home. Joanna and I still need to achieve a better comfort level with a few things, but overall we're ready to head home and begin the next stage of Taye's recovery. Tonight my dad and I are at the hospital. Hopefully, things go as smoothly as they did last night. But, even if I'm awake all night there's consolation in the fact we may not have too many more nights in the hospital.

Tuesday...

When we first started this blog, never did I think we would use it for support surrounding a long hospital stay with one of our children. It certainly has become an instrument for recording the daily happenings, a therapeutic release and an online support network.

Benjamin and I have worked out a routine where one of us stays with another family member through the night here at the hospital with Taye, and the other with Mikias somewhere. So far, this routine appears to be working and reminds me daily that our family is our rock. Last night I slept in my own bed for the first time since the accident, and it kind of felt like a sign that we are moving past "something" to return to "something" more like what we had imagined when landing in Detroit just 17 days ago. I have to admit that I can't wait for the first time all four of us are able to sleep in our home again.

In any event, today was quieter than yesterday's entourage of doctor "appointments". Taye had a difficult night of sleep. Perhaps, I should say Benjamin had a difficult night of sleep as Taye just wanted to play for a few hours in the middle of the night. Fortunately, one of his grandma's was here to help with that. Anyhow, the morning was a bit difficult as Taye had to stop eating by 4am to be ready for sedation so some "eye doctors" could take some pictures of his eyes. Somehow during all of this, Taye's IV leaked and had to be changed which was an unexpected hiccup to the morning.

The eye pictures revealed that he has some retina hemorrhaging in both eyes. We are still getting answers to what this means, but this revelation did prompt a full body x-ray to determine if there were other such bleeds or breaks in the rest of his body. Unfortunately, this also prompted the child advocacy representative to come to us for conversation. Certainly, she was following protocol, but let's just say this was not our favorite part of the day. At some other point, this will be a great topic to post about. Now, is not that time. (Okay, maybe just one thing...if there was only a child advocate for 4.8 million Ethiopian orphans...)

Interestingly enough through the aforementioned full body x-ray, along with blood and urine tests, we may actually start to piece together a medical history for Taye. Doctors are certainly trying to understand why such a small incident caused such a large problem. We are trying to eliminate the idea of any predispositions or simply recognize something that would be helpful as Taye continues to grow and develop. Honestly, at very least, it would be nice to speculate some answers. As an added bonus, we might be able to get a closer indication of his actual age as we currently are working on an estimate. Lousy way to find out, but information nonetheless.

Anyhow, the rest of the day was lower key. PT (physical therapy) did come in and continue their evaluation of Taye. He is doing so well. He is starting to feel more comfortable in the upright position, which is an improvement. It did appear that he attempted to roll his body and his head didn't appear as "heavy on his shoulders".

Our goals for the day were for him to 1) keep his formula down despite a small sedation - which he did, and 2) have a "Happy Time" awake, which he did on more than one occasion...so much so that goal #3 of sleeping for 2.5 hours straight is just only now in process. It's 10:22 and if we make it to 10:50 we are "3 for 3!" Overall, it has been a good day!

Things around here are starting to lighten up. We smile (especially when Taye does-and yes we do say smile now!). We joke about stupid hospital things and we certainly hug Taye and Mikias a little tighter. Even though it would be better to not be in this position, small steps each day make us thankful for all that we have been given.

Doctors....Doctors....Doctors!

Today has been an extremely busy day after a night with a bit of an interuption due to difficulty sleeping. At the moment, Taye is sound asleep after a full day of doctors.

The Schedule as it played out:

8 AM - PT evaluation
9:15 AM - CT Scan
9:40 Doctor's Rounds on PICU floor
10:20 Neurology Rounds
10:45 EEG Begins
12:00 EEG Ended
1:00 - OT evaluation
1:30 - First Opthamalogist Evaluation
3:15 Neorosurgeon Evaluation
4:30 Second Opthamologist Evaluation

Overall, Taye has done amazing. He made it through the CT scan this morning without anethesia, which was huge. The results indicated larger swelling than the last which has been explained to us as "to be expected". It did indicate more clearly that he did suffer a stroke (which has been the lack of bloodflow we have been talking about) and we have been exploring the effects throughout the rest of his "appointments" today.

We still feel encouraged by what all of the doctors have been saying. Even as new therapists and doctors enter the picture, the tone set still remains as rehabilitative. Our best conversations come from the neurosurgeon who is optimistic in his progression. He is the doctor who removed the hematoma so we feel he has had the birds eye view. It does appear that whenever we are finished with this hospital stint, we will go home before having the second surgery to replace the portion of his skull temporarily removed.

We still have a "road" ahead of us mostly being created by the numerous hands laid upon Taye today....but we are happy to be on that road.

Shh...Babies Healing

The title of this post is perhaps my favorite sign that I pass regularly as I walk around the intensive care unit. The word healing brings so much hope and we have been told repeatedly that when Taye is sleeping, he is healing. In fact, his heart rate has recently dropped into the 120's when he sleeps (which is a good thing as he is relaxed). When he was first admitted, we had moments where 208 would flash on the screen and of course bells would go off. In any event, when Taye sleeps, he is healing and I think we are too.

Honestly, Wednesday is a day I would like to forget. I do feel after we get to a place where we are comfortable with our seemingly new normal for the moment, we will have to heal with the difficutly of Wednesday. But, for now, we focus on our "day to day" and the strides that appear to be made on a small scale each day.

Last night Benjamin (and my brother) stayed the night with Taye. He awoke for feedings and then went back to sleep with relative ease. When I arrived this morning, Benjamin was rocking Taye and they both looked quite content. My first feeding with Taye resulted with interaction that included Taye grabbing for my hair and even a small smirk. Others may call it a smile, but for protective reasons, I think Benjamin and I prefer to call it a smirk until we are assured that both corners of his lips do in fact reach upward. In any event, the interaction which clearly included eye movement and some small reaction to us stimulating him, resulted in all of us tearing up. This was indeed our small baby step for today.

We have had numerous family and friends bounce in and out of our room during the past few days. Those who have come by for a second time, comment on his progress, which is very encouraging. His eye movement was noticably different today. Additionally, towards the later part of his afternoon, Taye clearly lifted his right leg. His right big toe now holds the coveted "glowing red-oxygen marker", so we speculated the light was attracting to him, therefore encouraging movement. It certainly is attractive to Mikias as he reaches into Taye's bed to touch his toe. Today, Mikias held Taye's hand. So sweet.

Mikias has been doing really well. He has been staying with my sister for most of the days. He loves it as he is able to play with his cousins. Today he had a visit to the fire station with his Uncle Rick, so his day was great. Just recently understanding the transition from one child to two, Benjamin and I have been pretty sensitive to Mikias during this time. Fortunately for us, we have a huge support of people who have been able to ensure that Mikias spends time with each of us each day both in and out of the hospital. I do have to put a plug in here for the hosptial children's garden/play area. This massive room has allowed us to spend some valuable time with Mikias while feeling only a moment away from Taye.

Overall, today was a good day. We decided to write the goals on the board today after he did them. As Jill pointed out, it gives us that good feeling when you write something on a list and are able to check it off. So today, he moved his eyes more, had a small smirk, reached for things often and lifted his right leg more than once. CHECK!

Tomorrow morning Taye has a CT scan with a long EEG later in the day. We anticipate tomorrow to be a bit busier than the weekend in terms of tests and follow up, but also hope for additional small moments of baby steps towards healing for all of us...but especially our little Taye Sintayehu McKinney.

Let is be known, how much we appreciate the many thoughts, prayers and support that we feel as we move through our days.