March 20th - Day 5

Today Omari gained about 20grams. Were very hopful, its wonderful that he gained something. He is still breathing on his own, the machine only breathes for him 10 times per minute now. His heart rate dropped a few times today, this may be nothing to worry about from what we were told. He also had one of his IV lines took out. One issue that kinda worries us is that he hasnt eaten much in the last day or so. Although one of the nurses named Michelle said that he by far has the BIGGEST POOPS she'd ever seen for an infant his size. A cardiologist did a sonagram and ultrasound on Omari's heart, intestines, and stomach to check for damage. When we asked her to share with us her findings, she said she wasnt allowed to say anything. Were still praying on that one. GREAT NEWS! We were told that we will be able to start holding Omari sometime within the next 2 or 3 weeks. They only allow the parents to hold him for the first while, then others can. Sorry MeMe and Ma... lol.

On a different note, I went to my job to take care of my FMLA paperwork. I was sad to find out that I was only allowed to take 2 weeks off work. I originally was told that I was able to take much longer, but was misinformed. Regardless, I will keep my head up and take it like a man. My main concern is that Omari is taken care of. My wife is fortunate that she does not work, and we have great friends and family who will help us out.

Please be in prayer that God will allow Omari to gain weight. The doctors said the first 7-10 days are crucial. Were on day 5 going on day 6, and the outcome is looking better and better. We would just hate to see him get below a pound. My boss explained to me that there are idaho potatoes in our produce section that weight a pound. Thats TINY!

March 19th - Day 4

Today was a good day. My wife was released from prison early on good behavior! Just kidding, she worked really hard to prove to the docs that she was ready to leave so they gave her a discharge. Meanwhile, Omari is offically the biggest, toughest, littliest guy I know. He still fights the good fight to survive. The nurses weighed him again today, he only lost a few grams. But I was assured that it was completely normal. He is still breathing on his own, but he is still hooked to a breathing machine through his nose. The machine is there just for a backup in case he has to stop to take a rest. The machine offically breathes for him 10-15 times per minute. Pretty good if you ask me. Today I was watching over him as the nurse talked my head off. Then all of a sudden he quits breathing. I immediately went into complete shock. You can see him breathing in great detail due to his muscles showing, but there was no movement. So when I seen him stop it freaked me out. The nurse then told me to just wait, and assured me that he was resting. She was right, within 6 seconds or so he began right back. The machine kicks in after so many seconds, not sure how many.

After taking a second to really look at him, my wife and I were just astonhised on how marvelous God is. For God to even bless us enough to see him is more that what we deserve. Having him puts life into perspective in so many ways. Gods goodness ALONE should lead men to repentence!

Lets pray that God changes all of our hearts to be more sensitive to his word through any circumstance. I dont want this to just be a "pray for Omari thing". I really want us to all treasure each other. That means, you pray for me, I pray for you. Look foward to seeing some of you at Cardinal Glennon. Contact me if you want to come up and visit.

Renaldo:

Phone: 618-207-9097

Email: MilitiaMuzic@aim.com

Terri:

Phone: 618-772-2216

Email: brownsuga_naldogirl@yahoo.com