Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Today's Beauty

Evan Joseph Trogdon

On certain days, you drive home and realize, "I accomplished a lot today." Generally for me that means that I have spent time involved in the lives of others. Not all of the interactions were easy. In truth, one of them was quite difficult, as it meant giving bad news to a friend. However, all of them were important. I realized that no matter how bad I feel, I always feel better at work, or at church or anywhere that I am surrounded by others. Augment that by the observation that I am slowly getting better from my viral infection and today was my last day of Revlimid for a while. I could easily fill 6 days a week with work considering the administrative and clinical responsibilities that now overfill my plate. I do all that I can from home, but that requires motivation, which generally returns when my health score is above 80. Today, I am at 75 and optimistic.

The beauty of the day was visiting my new grand nephew, Evan Joseph Trogdon. He was born last night to my niece Brooke and her husband Joe. The Woman and Children's Hospital, where he was born, is only about 50 yards to the East of my office. As I regarded this handsome 0 day-old, I was amazed to realize how many things a newborn must do in their 1st day of life; learn to breathe, learn to see, learn to smell, learn to poop, (what the kidneys have to do in the 1st 48 hours would blow you away and/or bore you to tears at the same time) learn to eat and, of course, get circumcised (he didn't even cry). Joe and Brooke will be wonderful parents; I am very happy for them. Evan is a beautiful baby.

Kevin

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kevin,
congratulations to the new parents!
Evan is a cute baby!There is nothing quite like new healthy life entering our world... what a precious gift from God.
I'm glad you're feeling better, I had no idea that you were feeling poorly. That neupogen must have really helped quickly. It's always wonderful to see you. Hope your mom is progressing well.
Love,
Jennifer

Brooke Trogdon said...

Hi Kevin!

It was so wonderful to have you visit us at the hospital. It sure did break up the boring times to have you as a visitor. He is doing great today and has a bit of jaundice, but nothing we can't handle! Glad you're on your way back up and here's to you feeling better!

Love,
Brooke {your niece and mama to Evan}

Anonymous said...

glad you are feeling better
Patty

Darlene Anderson said...

Thank you Kevin for your support and expended energy on behalf of Brooke, Joe and Evan; it's appreciated. Your arrival in the Birthing Center was not only a terrific break in the routine of labor but also caused a boost in the level of care. Thanks for taking the time....

I agree with you, Evan is amazing.......

Aunt Renie said...

There is nothing equal to the joy of new life to remind us how close we are to God's spirit in ourselves.
We had a not nearly so impressive a weekend, but exciting, nevertheless. Ed has started on both Revlimid and Dex and spent the weekend with bounding energy, enthusiasm and very little sleep. On Saturday nite at 10am he was still showing Michaela (age 12) pictures of paramecium and friends for her science class. She was fascinated but drowsy.
He finally crashed Sunday nite.

Vince and Brenda Liguore said...

Dear Kevin and Barbie,

Thank you for your continuing messages of hope and inspiration. Your presence in our lives has been a true gift. Vince is now 3 full months post heart transplant and his light chain values have returned to normal levels. We are full of hope. As you know Vince was the first amyloidosis patient at Oregon Health Science University in Portland to receive a heart transplant. Your position as the first patient at Stanford played no small part in Vince having the opportunity to receive this incredible gift.
We continue to follow your journey and are inspired to see you continue to embrace life to the fullest.

With Love and Appreciation,

Vince and Brenda Liguore
liguore@hotmail.com