Day 29

I tried to upload a video of Oceana and Joshua last night. But after several hours of letting it upload I refreshed the page and lost it. I give up. If I ever figure out an easier way to upload I will. The video was of them having hiccups together! Joshua had them, so I picked him up. I was sitting at the computer holding him when I realized Oceana's talking to me and missing out words. Suddenly it registered that she had hiccups too. I started yelling for my brother to "Get in here! Get the camera!" I'm sure he thought I was nuts. It was so funny!

One person already commented on the fact that we're giving Joshua antibiotics. I know we said that we'd probably not use antibiotics. The doctors that saw him before he was born and the pediatrian that saw him when he was born all said that antibiotics would prolong the inevitable and that they wouldn't prescribe them. However, our GP and the health nurse who sees Joshua feel differently about it. When I took Joshua in last week and she started asking if she should swab the scab for infection. I burst into tears! I think I felt that if I knew it was infection, it would seem all the more real. And I "knew" they wouldn't give him antibiotics. So knowing that there was infection would only drive home that point. And instead Dr Bowman and Heather the nurse stood there and kept asking if we'd been able to make any decisions for Joshua. I continued crying, and couldn't barely talk, because the truthful answer was "No." We've been having to go with what we're told, because we really don't know what to expect, and we're not medically trained. So our assumptions have been very wrong sometimes. We've just accepted what we've been told, and gone along with it. (Some of this is due to New Zealand's socialized medicine - I can't just "get another opinion" as easily as in the US).
So Dr B and Heather strongly encouraged me to let them swab it and check for infection. They said - it's paliative care - we want to make him comfortable. And as they put it - infection's not comfortable. So he's on antibiotics - which probably are prolonging the "inevitable". But Joshua's doing great. I'm so glad we're able to choose some things for Joshua - and that he's not at the mercy of 'some doctor'.
In other news.
Matt got a gift from his dad yesterday - which he was totally surprised by - and very excited about too. And Oceana found a pen. Yeah.... "found a pen". Yesterday morning my brother gave her a tiny tattoo on her arm that said "I *heart* Mom and Dad"...which was cute at the time. Until she got the idea that pen and skin were fun. So last night, before bed (when she was only daiper-clad) she managed to redecorate her epidermis... just a bit... ok... just a lot. All four limbs and her tummy. Wow.... Oh well. I took pictures.
Immigration medical exams and such are finished. Oh good. No more chest xrays, no more peeing in cups, no more blood sucking phlebotomists, no more standing on scales, and no more filling out paperwork. Ok, nix the last one - we still have to fill out the actual applications for visas. Blah. Don't I sound excited. I should be - I should be knock-down-drag-out-passionate about it, because our visas expire in a month and 4 days. AK!
*Pray for Joshua's staph infection
*Pray for Joshua's leakage - it's going through all the bandages in one day (it's only changed every 2 days) even with extra gauze inside. I had to put more gauze in again yesterday.
*Pray for Oceana - her sleep schedule got messed up the other day, so she's a bit worn out today (we've had to tantrums by quarter to 10)
*Pray for our visas - we're trying to get the last bits for the application today. I just want it in the mail and out of my hair!