BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

Jacob was turning 9 years old last Saturday. 9 years old! How did this happen? As always, Jacob is keeping us on his toes. Friday night, Jacob's stool output reached 1 liter (!) for the day. That is hospital stool level...Our plan says to call GI when Jacob stools out 1 liter. A call to GI Friday night means an automatic ticket to the ED. A visit to the ED is an automatic ticket to the PICU and a birthday weekend in the hospital.

Jacob looked good despite his output, so we decided to execute his new stress dosing plan overnight to see if Jacob would still look good in the morning. We can also start Jacob on antibiotics for his gut when we need it, so we did that as well.

We had big plans to take Jacob to watch the movie Paddington on his birthday, but decided to make it a day at home to make sure Jacob was doing well. It was a perfect Saturday at home. We cuddled up in the basement with movies and treats. Sarah and I had enough time to get everything ready for the big party the following day. And our boy was feeling much better!

And Jacob got a visit from Icing Smiles! This non-profit provides dream cakes for children living with critical illness. Isn't this a fantastic cake for a birthday boy's Minion party? I had forgotten that I had applied for a dream cake. The day Jacob got admitted to Children's with sepsis a few weeks back, I came home to an e-mail saying Jacob would receive his dream cake! I felt tears running down my cheeks. It was the sign I needed that Jacob would be fine. He had to come home for his dream cake! The dream cake was all eatable. The minions and Gru were made out of rice krispies treats. It was a fantastic vanilla cake with strawberry filling. Simply delicious!

Sunday it was time for Jacob's birthday party! Jacob's birthday party is one of my favorite days of the year, and I know several of our friends think the same. We know how hard Jacob is fighting for every year of his life, so this day is always a very special celebration. Jacob's birthday parties are long lasting affairs. This one lasted 7,5 hours! We made pizzas, we had tons of cake, good coffee and wine, and talked, talked, talked. The kids loved the crafts and games Sarah had planned for the day. Sarah is so becoming a "mini me" when it comes to planning events. I love to see her getting all involved with her brother's birthday party, and she sure went all the way out for his Minion party this year!

 

And this is all that was left of the beautiful cake!

Thanks to all of you coming out to celebrating Jacob's birthday and the hundreds of birthday wishes! You all made it very special for Jacob and our family.

Love, Maria.