Last Update (For Now)

Five days in to a planned 7-10 day recovery we started preparing for a return home. Theo responded well at nearly every step along the way and was rewarded with a night’s sleep in his own bed on Monday night. We’re thrilled that Theo’s recovery went almost entirely without a hitch.

After a relatively short but emotionally taxing week in Boston, following a much longer journey back and forth from Rochester dating back just about three years ago from today, we feel like we’re at a point where we can start turning the last page on this chapter in our lives. Theo has the circulation he will have for hopefully decades to come. And although never guaranteed, all signs point to a healthy childhood and beyond for him.

We’ve been told that 8-10 years from now it’s likely Theo will have a minor cath procedure to monitor his blood pressure and ensure his circulation is holding up as it should. But until then we’re looking forward to watching him thrive, and to shifting the focus ever so slightly away from his not insignificant challenges to his strengths and accomplishments. One day, we hope Theo sees that those are one in the same.

What’s Next for This Blog

Meg and I have thought quite a bit about how and whether we should continue writing on this blog in the future. Over the last three years, it has been equal parts practical and therapeutic for us. It’s probably helped us explore parts of our lives we may not have otherwise. And it’s kept us in closer contact with many of you. For each of these things and more, we’re tremendously grateful.

At the same time, we get a sense that everything has it’s moment and it’s season. Theo has made us more proud than we knew we could be, and we’ll always look back at the last three years as some of the most challenging but fulfilling in our family’s young life. Something feels right about moving forward — not grasping on to the past or rushing to the future, but allowing one chapter to end while the next begins.

Perhaps most importantly, we hope Theo reads this blog one day and feels proud of what he’s accomplished, and understands how proud he’s made us. And to that end, we wanted to end with a note to you, Theo.

To Our Son

Somewhere deep down, the following lyrics will be familiar to you. Your mom and I have played this song for you probably hundreds of times since you were growing in her belly. While written for his daughter, we’ve adapted SYML’s song Girl for our son. 

Boy

Perfectly you

Broken and hurt

Soft and asleep in the morning gray

Shake off the night and don’t hide your face

The sun lights the world with a single flame

I want you to see this

I want you to see this

Today

And all of your days

I’ll wear your pain

Heal what I can in your troubled mind

Sometimes our bodies will hurt for some time

And the beauty in that can be hard to find

I want you to find it

I want you to see this

I want you to see this

So run

Wake up and run

My little one

I wanna tear down these walls that can’t hold you inside

And rip out the cords and uncover your eyes

We’ll make our escape in the dark of night

I need you to see this

Boy

You’ll see the world

And you’ll come to learn

That falling in love is a strange work of art

All of your battles will shape who you are

And know that your scars are my favorite part

I want you to know this

Know Theo that your scars are a part of you but they are not all of you. You can and you will overcome anything and be anything you want to be — you’ve already shown that. Have the insight to believe it, the courage to pursue it, and the perseverance to see it through.

We love you so incredibly much and we’ll always be with you, though sometimes in ways you may not have expected. We want you to know this.