Updates, Updates, Updates

Hi everyone,

I apologize for not getting this update out to you yesterday. It was a twelve hour day and we were all exhausted by the time we fell into bed last night. Losh updates first and then Team Losh updates. :)

Losh did great with the anesthesia, and we'll have the MRI results when he goes to see his neurosurgeon on the 1st of December. They wanted to take a look at his shunt and check out his spinal cord to make sure he did not have tethered cord again.

 Coloring while waiting yesterday

ENT wasn't able to do the bronchioscope yesterday. They want him in the operating room to do that just in case anything goes wrong. Since MRI is in the basement, they just weren't willing to risk it. We're not sure just yet when they'll do it. He has a lot of tentative surgery plans this spring and summer, but everyone is kind of playing the wait and see game on everything right now, meaning it may happen as scheduled or they may hold off a little longer. No one really wants to take him into the OR right now unless they absolutely have to.

We're working on procuring the Team Losh domain name, and have set up both a Team Losh twitter (@TeamLosh) and a Team Losh email account (teamlosh@gmail.com).

You may have already seen the Art Show post. If not, check it out. :) Kaia is an amazing big brother and is always looking for ways he can get involved with Aloshua's care or with doing special little things for him (like swindling talking us into buying individual crayons and loose game pieces so he could give Losh quarters). He informed his mom that he wanted to hold an art show for Aloshua and sell art, so he convinced Losh and Aybra to help him, and they worked hard on it all morning. Kaia is fascinated by the entire blogging thing and just loves to see his stuff online so it's been posted here. Each "masterpiece" is $5.00 and does count toward the compilation.

We've added additional gift cards to the list of raffle prizes, as well as gift baskets. A luxury hotel will also be raffling off four rooms during the month of December. Additional details on that will post soon.

For members of Aloshua's local community, a benefit dinner and silent auction will be held in January. Details on that will post in mid-December.

Finally, today is World Prematurity Day and we would like to encourage everyone to take a minute to learn more about premature birth. Globally, 20 million babies are born premature every year. Nearly 1 million of those babies do not survive infancy. Of those that do survive, 1 in 10, like Aloshua, will face lifelong, serious health issues such as cerebral palsy and lung disease. For more information on prematurity and what you can do to help protect the most fragile, please visit the March of Dimes website.

A big thank you to everyone who has donated, to Amber for working her magic on the blog, for Fandom4Causes for the support, to Thaigher Lillie for signing up to help design items, and to everyone who has been posting about Aloshua, checking on him, and sending him thoughts and prayers.

All my love,

Ayden