Blakey Update # 2- no pun intended

Hi All-... just wanted to send a quick update on Blakey-... today is Wed, and Blake is still at Childrens Mercy in KC. Monday I went to the car, and as I was walking back, I noticed a little girl who looked really familiar-... so I said to her Mom- "Does she go to ABC Preschool"...and she said- Yes she does- and I said, I think she's in Blakes Baby room- Why are you here ?... The mother told me she has RSV-... RSV is a highly contagious Respiratory Virus-... so that evening we met with the Surgeons- and I mentioned running into this little girl-... so they tested Blakey for RSV for precaution and his test came back positive for RSV. He is now still in the hospital and is fighting off this infection- and on oxygen. They cannot do surgery on a tiny little guy, unless he is little lungs are clear- anything in the lungs could keep him from waking up from surgery, or he could aspirate-....so we have to postpone it for a bit and keep his little intestines clear until surgery-...they showed us how to do it at home and its really a breeze-...doesn't bother him at all- So as soon as Blake is off oxygen he will be coming home- He will have surgery scheduled 6 weeks from the time he gets rid of this virus. Blake is really doing wonderful-...still being his smiley ole little toot self- and I have to say, I've never met nicer hospital staff in my life-...he is getting tons of loving while he's there and making the most of his time by practicing his toe touches and cooin.. and a little flirtin here and there- I think I saw him wink at one of the nurses-...
Blakey will be home from the time he's released until his surgery to stay away from germs and stay well-...and he will be hospitalized for a week after surgery-... We are hoping he will get to come home tomorrow-
I'll let you all know more as it comes ok-...
Thank you all for all your kind words, prayers and responses-...
Much love from the Western State line !
Love yas
Kel, Dave, Chase and Blake-a-roonie
xoxo

Blakey Update # 1

Hi All- Friday Blakey just wasn't himself- and his belly was really big and hard- so I took him to the doctor and asked if he could have Hirschsprungs disease ( I read about it and its prevelant in kids with DS ) .. he's always been so bloated and doesn't "Go" like he should- ... so they thought it would be best if we took him to the hospital ... so off we went- to Childrens Mercy here in KC. We went to the ER at about 5p- and at midnight they decided they should admit him-... we've been there since Friday- he had a barium test this morning and sure enough- he has this intestinal disease ...a part of his intestines is too small to work properly. He has another test scheduled for Monday morning where they will go in and clip a part off of his intestines and do a biopsy to test for Ganglionic cells and on Tuesday we will know more-... He will have to have surgery this week and they will take out the nonfunctioning part of the intestines and reconnect the good parts together. He is on IV fluids since he can't eat anything and antibiotics for infection. ... I don't know a whole lot right now. but this I do know.. Blake is happy - and healthy- he is not sick from this, we caught it before it made him sick-... the bloating was a foreshadowing of something worse to come, had we not gotten this taken care of.
Blake is strong, he is happy- and he is just in for some body work-... he will come out later this week like a shiny new little coupe ready and rarein to go-
I will write more later when we know-

Love you All-

The New year...

The New year

I am an unspoiled page in your book of time. I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months. All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it out with more determination. All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires. All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have -these slumber lightly,waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity

I am the new year.

Forever

Forever to me is my marriage, my love for my family both sides near and far, always loving the people in my life now and people that were but for some reason are not now, my first born always being my very first feeling of utter reason for being and always being my first taste of what a real feeling of being needed feels like , and its the love for my friends that are and have been my friends throughout life.. forever to me is support that I will never stop needing.
Forever to me is also something I can't fix, something that will never go away, its something out of our control, its something that as a mother we all go through emotionally , .. not being able to fix something that will forever affect your life, your families lives, your friends lives, .. my forever is Blake having Down Syndrome.
Forever is how long I want him to stay safe in my arms, and how long I wish he would stay 3 months old.
Forever to me is realizing I'm not waking up from a bad dream, I simply am waking up to this precious life of mine that is still amazing its just forever different now and realizing we have no control over our lifes plan , it is not in our hands anymore. Forever is what we make of it.
Forever to me is acceptance of all things that are forever....
I am working on it........

Gifts

I'm not gonna lie, ...I was terrified, ...the second those words came out of the Drs mouth the day after Blakey arrived " Your son shows classic signs of Down Syndrome."
Why us, I thought, ..we don't have this in either side of the family, we know nothing about this. I felt that I have failed my husband, my family and my son Chase. I was supposed to give them a perfect new baby boy, someone that can play ball, someone who will sing at the top of his lungs and make everyone laugh even though he sings off key, someone they will all come to see during his Christmas Pagents. I had failed and I didn't understand why this was happening to me... what did I do wrong ?
But what is perfect , ?
I know now that Babies with disabilities are not given to people as punishment, ..they are given to us as gifts. We are fortunate to have him exactly how he is , and how he is is exactly how he was meant to be in this world. This was not a series of unfortunate events for our family...we were hand picked out of this huge world to raise this beautiful baby boy. To watch him grow and to thrive in an environment full of love, companionship, family values and hope.
We are the lucky ones,
Blakey has a 100 % clean bill of health - his heart is perfect, as is his vision and hearing- he smiles all the time now, and his brother LOVES to hold him and feed him..and when Blakey smiles, he lights up the room. He continues to baffle doctors with his strength and his health. As of now, he only shows physical features of down syndrome...he has amazing strength and is absolutely on track with babies that do not have DS. Time will tell of the challenges this will bring him in the future...but we will tackle them head on together and with a willingness to learn all we have been missing out on before he made his debut.
In our travels through life, we discover that it doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special things that your personalized life has to offer. Yes, about 3 months ago we landed in a place we hadn't planned. Yet we are thankful, for this destination has been richer than we could have ever imagined
Take your time buddy, ...we will not rush you - everything you do will be at your own pace , we are not in a hurry !
And for whoever does the choosin in life, Thank you for choosing us !

Blakeys heart is 100% healthy...

I want to thank each and every one of you for all of your well wishes and prayers for our family these last couple of weeks-... Blake had his Cardiology appointment this morning, and has a very healthy heart . We know the odds of heart problems that comes with a Downs diagnosis , and know that we are very lucky......so today, we are breathing easy ( no pun intended).....

****Little high fives from Blakey****

We love you All-... Have a super fantastic week !!

Kel, Dave, Chase and Blake Greeninger

Positive results-...

Hello Friends-
Today was Blakes Doctors appointment- and just as I had suspected- the results for his test came back positive for Down Syndrome-..
I was telling my friend here, it is a bittersweet day, because now we can be at peace and have that quiet acceptance.. now that we know-... But with that comes just a bit of sadness, because now we know-...
I'm just glad this step is behind us,..and we can take a few more steps forward to the next road bump..which will be the cardiologist appointment, which I am confident will turn out as it should... as will this all !!

This kid is so beautiful-..and I can't wait for you all to squeeze his squishy smell good baby cheekies !!

Much Love from the KC Greeninger Homefront-....... enjoy a few of my favorite pics !

Love,
Kel, Dave, Chase and Blake Greeninger