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Hey folks....
I have not been online for a while. I mentioned in a post back around October that my wife and I were expecting our first child, a baby boy. We learned in late October he had a heart condition and were prepared to deal with the 3 heart surgeries it would take to resolve his heart condition. In addition, we had a genetic test to rule out the 3 most common chromosome issues Trisomy 13, 18, & 21. The results came back with a .01% chance of him having any one of the 3 Trisomy conditions.
My uncle passed away on January 11th from cancer. His death was expected. However, Hunter was born 5 weeks early on January 20th. It was immediately apparent to the neonatologist that there was an issue. We spent the next 4 days living and sleeping in the Nursery ICU for test results. On Thursday, Jan 23, we learned Hunter had Trisomy 18. Long story short, we got a false negative for Trisomy 18. The statistics for Trisomy 18 babies are pretty bleak: only 25% actually make it to live birth; and 90-95% don't make it to their 1st birthday. On Thursday evening Hunter was transferred to a hospice specializing in children with terminal conditions. His mother and I wanted him to know something other than the ICU of a hospital and the hospice was as close to "home" as we could get.
Our brave little man passed away the next day at 3pm. He was 4 days old.
Through the entire experience our family, (blood relations, in-laws, and church) supported and comforted us with prayers, meals, advice, and company. I do not honestly know how my wife and I would have made it through without God and their support. I am not going to lie, it's been really tough. We have our good days and our bad days.
In the days and weeks since my wife and I have kept ourselves busy with one project after another around the house. We harvested our Winter garden which produced over 80 lbs of turnips 30 one-gallon bags of Bibb lettuce; 6 one-gallon bags of carrots, and 7 one-gallon bags of scallions. We've planted our Spring garden 2 weeks ago. We transplanted 3 tomato plants (Cherry, Big Boy, and Beefsteak), a Banana pepper, 3 strawberry plants, and a Rhubarb. All of the transplants have taken nicely. We planted seeds for Zucchini, Summer squash, Okra, and Basil. The Basil has yet to sprout but everything else sprouted within a week of planting.
I am still processing everything that has happened. I look at my preps with a different perspective now. I was helpless when it came to Hunter's medical condition. I promised myself I would not experience helplessness with non-medical issues. We have increased our food storage. I am brushing up on my HAM and radio communication abilities. We have a family cabin in Norther AZ. I am setting up preps there. I am still upgrading the Jeep Cherokee. It's running great but I would like to add a 2" lift, a winch on the front bumper, a tire rack on the back bumper, and a roof rack.
So far 2014 has been one hell of a ride. I don't want to look back in December and realize I didn't do enough in 2014, and more importantly, that it didn't mean anything.
I owe you guys a spreadsheet that tracks ammo prices...I will get back to working on it. I look forward to rekindling friendships here.
Glad to be back,
Anthony
I have not been online for a while. I mentioned in a post back around October that my wife and I were expecting our first child, a baby boy. We learned in late October he had a heart condition and were prepared to deal with the 3 heart surgeries it would take to resolve his heart condition. In addition, we had a genetic test to rule out the 3 most common chromosome issues Trisomy 13, 18, & 21. The results came back with a .01% chance of him having any one of the 3 Trisomy conditions.
My uncle passed away on January 11th from cancer. His death was expected. However, Hunter was born 5 weeks early on January 20th. It was immediately apparent to the neonatologist that there was an issue. We spent the next 4 days living and sleeping in the Nursery ICU for test results. On Thursday, Jan 23, we learned Hunter had Trisomy 18. Long story short, we got a false negative for Trisomy 18. The statistics for Trisomy 18 babies are pretty bleak: only 25% actually make it to live birth; and 90-95% don't make it to their 1st birthday. On Thursday evening Hunter was transferred to a hospice specializing in children with terminal conditions. His mother and I wanted him to know something other than the ICU of a hospital and the hospice was as close to "home" as we could get.
Our brave little man passed away the next day at 3pm. He was 4 days old.
Through the entire experience our family, (blood relations, in-laws, and church) supported and comforted us with prayers, meals, advice, and company. I do not honestly know how my wife and I would have made it through without God and their support. I am not going to lie, it's been really tough. We have our good days and our bad days.
In the days and weeks since my wife and I have kept ourselves busy with one project after another around the house. We harvested our Winter garden which produced over 80 lbs of turnips 30 one-gallon bags of Bibb lettuce; 6 one-gallon bags of carrots, and 7 one-gallon bags of scallions. We've planted our Spring garden 2 weeks ago. We transplanted 3 tomato plants (Cherry, Big Boy, and Beefsteak), a Banana pepper, 3 strawberry plants, and a Rhubarb. All of the transplants have taken nicely. We planted seeds for Zucchini, Summer squash, Okra, and Basil. The Basil has yet to sprout but everything else sprouted within a week of planting.
I am still processing everything that has happened. I look at my preps with a different perspective now. I was helpless when it came to Hunter's medical condition. I promised myself I would not experience helplessness with non-medical issues. We have increased our food storage. I am brushing up on my HAM and radio communication abilities. We have a family cabin in Norther AZ. I am setting up preps there. I am still upgrading the Jeep Cherokee. It's running great but I would like to add a 2" lift, a winch on the front bumper, a tire rack on the back bumper, and a roof rack.
So far 2014 has been one hell of a ride. I don't want to look back in December and realize I didn't do enough in 2014, and more importantly, that it didn't mean anything.
I owe you guys a spreadsheet that tracks ammo prices...I will get back to working on it. I look forward to rekindling friendships here.
Glad to be back,
Anthony
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