Today ended up being a day to wander a bit down memory lane. I hadn’t planned it. Still it was what I ended up doing. Daniel’s requested hospital records FINALLY arrived! Oh yes, we are that much closer to beginning his HGH treatment and therapy…if the insurance gods deign so.

I quickly thumbed through the 24 pages to make sure all the requested records were there. But I found myself stopping as quickly as I started on the second page, page two of his Admission & History record as dictated by the admitting neonatologist who was on duty early that morning.

There it was to remind me again. Sometimes I forget just how remarkable it is that he is even here. How some believed that it was unrealistic even for him to survive and thrive.

Out of the six neonatologists on staff in the NICU where he spent his first 132 days, only one believed that he would have a good outcome from the very beginning. He even fought against the hospital medical ethics committee for his life. Of course, initially his motives were for the biological parents to reconsider their decision and reunite with the baby. But from the very moment of his birth, Daniel fought hard to live, to survive and to thrive. One by one, he convinced his caregivers of his viability, of his stubborn will to live. And soon enough, very soon, the possibility of him finding his forever family and being placed for adoption became realistic…real for him…real for us. Even the bioethics committee agreed two months after his birth that “his care was appropriate and justified”. Problem #3 proved to not be a problem after all. Yes, even the neonatologist who initiated problem #3 agreed…perhaps taking a little bit longer.