Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas letter

Today we dropped of the gifts at the NICU. It was great. Thanks to all who contributed! We'll have a full report with photos soon.

You may received this by mail, or email, or on Facebook. But here it is! This letter can be viewed as a printable PDF here.

Dear Friends and Family,

What a difference a year makes!

On October 18th, 2008, Loki was born at 24 weeks 3 days gestation. As you know, we spent last holiday season at the Alta Bates NICU. Although we were very grateful for being surrounded by the best nurses and doctors, we would have preferred to be at home, celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s with our handsome boy.

At this holiday season, one year later, life looks very different, better and filled with hope. A year ago we feared for Loki’s life. This year, we are watching him crawl around, laugh, and get into trouble. We are confronting how to childproof our house from this trickster.

Loki has had a rough year with several hospital stays, six surgeries, dozens of doctors’ visits, early intervention, feeding therapy and a feeding tube. However, if we would have known last year that he would become this sweet, energetic, smart and generally healthy, we would have taken a much greater number of deep breaths and slept through the night so much better.

Regardless of the disparity and all the worries of this past year+, we have learned a great deal about Loki and ourselves. We have learned who we are as parents, and are slowly figuring out how to find time for ourselves, to be just ourselves, and husband and wife, again. We have learned that small gestures can go a long way, and thus are very excited about the overwhelming support of Loki Sky’s Holiday Gift Drive for the Alta Bates NICU. We know we have a family who is ready to step in when and where we need help. And finally, we learned what it feels like to be carried by the love of a community of old friends, new friends, unexpected friends, and friends unknown to us (e.g., Loki blog followers), who have all sent support in ways of which we never would have thought before.

Below: Same Christmas hat, but what a difference a year makes!





Our gratitude stretches beyond what words can describe!
With Love, Mom, Dad, and Loki Sky
December 2009

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About Loki Sky

Loki Sky is a special little man. He was a very early micropreemie, weighing only 610 grams (1 lb, 5 oz) after 24 weeks, 3 days gestation, born to an American Father and a Dutch Mother in Berkeley, California on October 18, 2008.

On January 11, 2009, while still in the hospital NICU, his one kidney stopped working. It was repaired after three surgeries. After spending time in three hospitals in three cities, Loki came home on February 17. He struggled with eating, and then stopped in July, leading to 8 days in the hospital, a failure-to-thrive diagnosis, and a NG feeding tube. On October 10, a minor surgery installed a G feeding tube. Another procedure replaced it with a new one, and then again with a Mic-Key button in Jan. 2010.

In August 2010, he and his parents moved to the Netherlands.

Read about his first name.
Read & hear about his middle name.
See photos.
See videos.

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Loki's Holiday Gift Drive

Please consider donating to Loki's Holiday Gift Drive for the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center NICU. You can donate by Paypal or credit card here:





Click here for more information, including how to pay by check. For all posts on the Gift Drive, click here.