Parker's Pals

I have recently heard from my contact at Pope John Paul II that Parker's Pals have really been doing a phenomenal job getting people aware of Parker and his battle with ADA deficiency. They are doing several fundraisers and we are extremely appreciative of everything that the students and teachers at Pope John Paul II Catholic Secondary School have done for us.

Although we are unsure of an actual date for when we will be going to Italy to take part in the experimental treatment, it is nice to know that we have the support from so many people so that we may keep Parker healthy and an ideal candidate for a successful treatment.

I just came down from upstairs where my wife is trying to put Parker to bed. He had gone down at 6:30pm and then awoke shortly after. I thought I would give her a break by holding him as I rocked back and forth in the glider, singing the alphabet to him in the deep voice that he has come accustomed to hearing from me. Unfortunately, the little monkey is very tired and as a result just wants to be snuggled. Every few minutes, he lets us know how tired he is crying in our arms. After listening to Parker periodically cry in my arms for 10 minutes she decided I was no closer to getting him to bed then she was, so she decided to give feeding him the rest of his bottle a try. As a result, I came downstairs to write today's article.

I had mentioned yesterday that Parker has been waking up in the middle of the night again to play for extended periods of time. Last night, we heard him at about 2am through the monitor playing for a good 30 minutes. We decided that we would go in there and give him a bottle as it usually puts him to sleep. It did. Unfortunately, it was three hours later that he decided he wanted to get up and play again. We decided not to let it go the whole 30 minutes before going in to see him. I am sure that there are many parents out there itching to tell us to let him be through the night, but we have decided not to. With Parker having to spend many weeks without us in the hospital at night we have chosen to be there for him when he awakes in the night. With his two episodes last night, Parker was quite the tired and cranky little boy this afternoon. We hope that being so tired tonight, he will have a much more restful and undisturbed sleep.

With Christmas coming up, I have already started looking at toys that I want to give to the little monkey. Being home for Christmas is definitely one of the goods things about not taking part in the study until 2007. I already told my wife that little monkeys do not like clothes for Christmas. He wants cool toys that he can play with and learn from; so, that is what he will get this year from Santa Claus. Cool Toys. I think I am looking forward to Parker's first Christmas more than anyone. What is it, October and I am already writing about it? It is just so nice to know that we will be home and not in a hospital for Parker's first Christmas. With this, we will make sure that it is a very special day for all of us. I know that it will be these memories that will keep us going during some very difficult days ahead.

Well, it sounds like my wife is back downstairs. She must have gotten him to sleep. Let's hope it lasts.