UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Geez....Where to start.....

I have been floored by all the kind words, and emails I have received. Every time I felt I was at my lowest point I would get an email, or see a comment that was posted, or someone would call. It helped to pick me back up. There are too many people to thank. But, I want you all to know that EVERYONE had an impact. It meant the world to me. So, thank you all for keeping my family in your thoughts. I'm sure that it helped.

It has been a rough couple of days. I'm going on a total of 17 hours of sleep in the last 5 days. No one's fault but my own. I'm afraid to go to sleep, because I'm such a hard sleeper, and I have convinced myself that I will miss a call from the hospital, or I won't hear my daughter during the night, if she needs me. I know that won't happen. But, that's where my mind is right now. Considering everything that everyone else has gone through, I think I'm getting off easy. I'm not complaining. I just won't be settled until everyone is in the house, where I can keep an eye on them.

On that note.....

Brooke and Max are coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday!!!!!!

Brooke is getting better every day. They use a pain scale of 1-10. On the first day she had her pain at a 9. It has gotten progressively lower since then. Today, at one point, she put it at a 1. It's going to go back up. But, I'd be willing to be that she never thought it would get down to a 1, at any point. Overall, she's probably at a 4, now. Pretty good for someone whose foot was facing the wrong direction just a few days ago. We have a hospital bed, and a few other things, coming to the house tomorrow. She won't be able to walk for 6 weeks. No weight on the foot. Period. But, my wife is tough. She is up sometimes, and down others. Brooke has always done what she needed to do, even if she didn't like it. She's always been the steady one, and she takes care of business. She's my rock. To see her in a bed, with a cast on her leg, is tough. But, we both know that she'll be fine. Time is all she needs, and she's got it. She's always taken care of me, and now it's my turn. Of course, if she has to eat my cooking she might break the other leg just to get back into the hospital. Either that, or starve. Both are far more appealing than eating anything that I might make in a kitchen.

How about the boy?

Let me tell you something, pal. You better NOT mess with Maxwell Steven Bartholomew. Did you have a bad day? Did your boss, or someone, yell at you? Did you fold like a cheap suit? Well, Max isn't even supposed to be BORN, yet. He's already beaten DEATH. Top THAT!!!! This kid has beaten EVERYTHING they have thrown at him........

They said that he didn't have a heartbeat.............He got one.

They said he was too little..........He was almost 7 pounds, birth. (initial reports of 6 lbs. were amended.)

They said that they were concerned about his breathing.......He started breathing better.

They said that if he didn't start eating they were going to stick a tube down his nose.....He started eating.

They were concerned that he was having trouble breastfeeding......He started doing it.

They were concerned about his body temperature......He regulated it.

"Miracle Max" is pretty amazing. More than one of the nurses have told us that what this kid has come through is nothing short of incredible.

I'm thinking of telling him, tomorrow, "Max, you CAN'T win the lottery." Based on his history, I'm pretty sure he would come right out and do it. Just because he's Max, and that's what he does.

Let me tell you something else, though. Max was in what is basically baby ICU. He was far and away the healthiest baby there. When I went down to see him, which I did several times a day, I had to wash my hands with scalding hot water, for 5 minutes. After I did that, I would put my eyes down, and walk right to where he was. There was a reason for this. I felt guilty. Max was going to be okay. But, there are A LOT of babies there that may not be. There were other parents that were there, every day, too. You could see it in their eyes. They were beaten, but they were clinging to hope. I know what that feeling is like, now. I was there. But, in a very short period of time, I was able to walk away from it. These people can't. Not yet, and maybe never.

Their baby is in a plastic box, and they can't even touch it. Or, their baby has tubes coming out from all over its body. In some cases, all they can do is sit there. I could walk in, pick up my boy, and hold him in my arms for as long as I wanted. They couldn't. If there is a Hell on earth, it's in the baby ICU. Imagine the person you love the most, who is completely helpless, and you can't hold them in your arms and make the hurt go away..........Now, multiply that by 1,000,000...............You MIGHT be close to what it's like. Do you know how many of these parents would have gladly taken their baby's place? Every single one of them. I know that I would have done it for Max, when we were at the lowest moment.

That's why I started looking down. I didn't smile, and I didn't go bounding in, with a spring in my step. I washed my hands, went to my son, and talked to him in quite tones. I didn't want to rub it in. I didn't want to look like I was gloating. Every last one of them would have killed to pick up their baby, like I was mine. But, they couldn't. My heart is with these people, every time I hold my son.

Man, I didn't mean for this to be a downer. It's funny how you notice things when life hits you in the face.

Bottom line:

Brooke, in time, will be okay.
Max, in time, will be okay.
Spenser, my little girl, is ready to help mommy, and take care of her little brother.

Me? I'm thinking, a lot, now. Lots of different things. But, as soon as I can get everyone safe again, I promise to stop thinking, and get back on the air. My wife has always told me that, when I think too much, bad things happen. So I'll stop, soon.

In the meantime, thank you ALL for your kind thoughts, and words. I simply can't express how much it all meant to me.

Thank you.

Casey