So this is an unbelievably difficult thing to type, but I’m currently sitting in Johnson City Medical Center with my wife who is 26 weeks and 5 days pregnant with our 4th. For those who know me, we lost our oldest 6 years ago, a few months before his 7th birthday.

As I sit here, my wife is 4cm dilated and her delivery has stalled temporarily thanks to medication. But we don’t know how long it’ll work.

We actually just had a scare while I was typing that last paragraph.

So, if the baby is born before 36 weeks, we cannot begin the treatment for his genetic condition for at least a month, which _will_ result in his death. Maybe later, rather than sooner, but he will not thrive, and he will be lucky to make it past his first year. He will have seizures, he will have muscle spasms, he will have feeding issues and he will not be able to communicate, walk, or play.

So that brings us to today. If he is born now or in the very hear future, we’ve made the decision to do comfort care only. The doctors said he may survive a few hours... maybe a day or two. But then his life will end before it begins.

I uh... am not sure why I’m typing this here. I guess because it’s anonymous. We haven’t really told our family. We don’t want visitors from either side. We’ve already buried one child. Burying another will crush us, and then we will have to go back to being parents to our two healthy boys. And I don’t know how that will go. It just will, I guess.

I guess I just needed to get this off my chest somewhere with people who are part of a family away from family. I don’t want to talk like it’s already over, but the doctors are not optimistic.

I am not sure what to type next. The words are hard to come by. I hope my son will make it to Thanksgiving and can start treatments the first week he is alive. I uh... I hope he will.

I’m sorry for being my personal problems here. I just needed to talk about it. My wife has the weight of the world on her right now. I don’t want to bring her down.

Thanks for being family. I’m not a religious man, but I wouldn’t turn away prayers for Noah.

Thank you all.

Go Hokies. Golf Co ‘07