I haven't written a blog post in over a year. I've been wanting to, but I can't seem to find the words lately, I think this is a good sign because writing about our journey always felt like a form of therapy and purpose for me when I was struggling. Since Rowan received a kidney from his daddy in May last year, life has changed A LOT (in a good way!).
A little less than a month before Rowan's scheduled transplant date, we found out that we were pregnant with baby #2! We definitely wanted a sibling for Rowan so I was very excited, but also nervous because our future was still very unknown at that point. We didn't know how the transplant would go or how Rowan and my husband (the donor), Justin, would recover from it. We knew there would be tons of appointments and bloodwork for months after the transplant. We planned for me to live in Cincinnati with Rowan for 4-6 months until he was cleared to go home while Justin went back to Toledo to work after he recovered. It just felt like a lot was going to happen so being pregnant on top of that just added to the chaos.
I will go into detail about Rowan's transplant and the days, weeks, and months that followed in another post, but overall, Rowan is doing AMAZING. He is like a different kid. Still sweet, playful, and silly, but on a whole new level. He has grown (physically and developmentally) so much. He has tons of energy, is interested in foods (he currently only licks food and gets his nutrition from his g-tube, but we'll get there!), he learns new things so quickly, climbs all over the furniture as toddler boys do, and he has the most amazing personality. I look at him every day and think about how proud I am that he is mine and that I get to see him continue to grow up and live his life. I'm also so proud to call Justin my husband. Seeing him be so selfless and being willing to go through testing, surgery, and recovery with no hesitation to give Rowan his kidney reminds me of what an amazing man, husband, and dad he really is.
And now that our newest addition to the family has arrived, I've seen a whole new side of Rowan. He loves his little brother, Weston, more than anything. He helps me take care of him, shares his toys, holds Weston's hand, and Weston is the first person Rowan asks for when he wakes up in the morning. People say your heart grows to hold the extra love that comes when you have another baby and now I know that it's true. I have SO much love for both of these boys and I can't imagine my life any better than this. I'm trying to soak up every minute I can while these boys are still little.
To wrap up this post, I think all of this joy and happiness in my life is why I haven't been able to write much this last year. I did write updates about Rowan's kidney transplant last summer (which I'll add to a blog post soon), but otherwise, life has been so crazy and busy and full of life and love and I guess I haven't "needed" this therapeutic part of my journey. I'm not saying there haven't been hard days or stress in my life, but I've been able to move forward through it easier than in the past. Now I want to start writing again to share our journey and continue to spread awareness for the NICU and for kidney disease. Thank you to everyone who has followed us along our journey, prayed for us, and supported us. Your kindness means the world to us and I only hope to do the same for other families who go through similar challenges.
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