7/31/07

Just a quick update today...

We spoke with Dr. Uribe this AM and received good news that Dana and Miller are both doing well. He is measuring out around 20 weeks from the Sono which puts us 1 week ahead of schedule. He will continue to grow as a singleton so we can expect a normal growth rate from this point forward. Dana is off the IV and is now on oral antibiotics which is another positive sign and will help decrease the chance of infection. So far everything is a good as we can hope and we both are doing well. I am going to spend the night at home this evening and take care of a few items and get some rest. We love the idea of having lunch or dinner brought to us so please continue to call and ask Dana what she feels like eating. It is a big help and will continue to increase her appetite.

On another funny note, I had our two year anniversary dinner with the 2nd best option next to Dana. Greg and I enjoyed some wine and Sushi which was a unique anniversary experience but one that I enjoyed very much. Though it was not the same as being there with Dana I appreciate the investment of his time and wisdom as always. Thanks again.

Please continue to contact us. We are doing great and look forward to making further progress on our situation.

We hope everyone is well!

07/30/07

It’s 8am and we had a good night. So good, that I have insisted to Matt that I wanted to write the entry for today. (Obviously feeling good because I am getting “bossy” again.)

Last night was uneventful—which is exactly what we want. The only exception is that I kept having bad thoughts and dreams trying to creep in on me. I realized that this was probably Satan trying to get into the situation—but with each negative thought that tried to rear its ugly head—I just said a prayer to God which comforted me and Miller. The morning came soon after and then the sun was shining! Once again, Matt, Miller and I are comforted by God’s presence in our lives. Another sign was when I woke up, Matt handed me a quote that Mama Sandy (Matt’s mom) had seen in our house. It is a daily quote from the author Marianne Williamson that says: “Intimacy is where we are willing to move so deeply into love that the demons do not deter us from our conviction to make it through to the light.” Obviously this quote was perfect for the day that it was meant for (July 27th—the day that Baby Lawton went to Heaven to be with our Mighty God) as well as today. I believe it is a great quote for our entire journey that we have embarked upon since last Wednesday.

Our little Miracle Miller is doing well and keeps reminding me that he is there which is a huge relief. The nurses come in and check for his heartbeat 2-3 times a day and he is very active which is good. I know that he is active because he is so strong AND I feel that he is still looking around for his brother. I have to remind him that his little brother, Lawton is in Heaven but looking out for him, his mama, and his daddy.

We know that Miracle Miller is so very strong because of his good genes. Between his stubborn mom and dad, he also has the Meserole and DeLorenzo strong fighting genes too. I know that Matt has said he is amazed by my strength---but his strength is even more amazing than mine. He has had to endure watching me go through all of this without getting a chance to fix things which he always likes to do.

Today is our 2nd anniversary and I love him more than I did when I first met him, when we got married, when we conceived Lawton and Miller. The love for him that I have is the kind that you can’t fully explain with words and the kind that each great movie and/or book strives to create but falls short. I pray that each of you find this kind of love if you have not already. The only thing I can do is thank God for all that he has given me.

Lastly—sorry this is so long but you have figured out by now that our spirits are up which is an incredible feeling. I know that Matt has said this before, but thank you for all of your love, support and most of all, your prayers! We know that we are so loved by all of our family and friends that it is overwhelming. I don’t know how we can return the favor of your many prayers, love and kindness, but I do know that we will be trying to thank all of you for the rest of our lives. The one way I can think of is by letting our little Miracle Miller give all of y’all lots of hugs and kisses when he gets here after week 30!

So with all of this said---the party continues in Room 219 at Seton. Please feel free to come by and say “hi” to all of us! Definitely try to get Matt out of the room for a beer or two because he deserves it and needs a break. (However, no Texas Hold’em or “Shallenge” for the time being because I get a little scared being away from him for so long.) Oh—when he does get out of here for his first round of golf----boys, please give him some strokes because I know that his game has suffered too)

Love, Joy and Peace to all of you!
Dana, Matt and our little M&M (Miracle Miller)

7/29/07

We had another good day with our progress with little change in our situation from Saturday. We both slept well through the night and enjoyed a great morning with my brother Mike bringing us Starbucks and Kolaches. We also enjoyed seeing a good friend who we have not seen in sometime come by and bring us some treats. Thanks Mark!

Our spirits are high and we enjoyed watching some TV that only a Sunday morning can provide in a church service we just flipped on and started watching. While there were several times I wanted to say "change the channel" I held off because I could see it brought peace to Dana. As we watched and listened to the sermon I grew interested in the message and at the end of it was glad we watched the program. We discussed the it afterwards and both agreed with the message and felt it impacted our lives at least for the day and hopefully longer. As we struggle through this time I think we both feel we find ourselves growing stronger in our faith and love for each other. It is amazing how certain struggles we find in our lives can change them forever. When you think you love someone so much and that you can't love them any more than you do, it is a awesome feeling to reach a higher point in your relationship. I feel closer to Dana at this time than I ever have in our marriage which we will celebrate our 2 year anniversary on Monday the 30th of July. We reminisced that two years ago to this day we were celebrating our rehearsal dinner with all of our family and friends. We have grown in many ways since that time but I am proud to say we have grown most in our faith and love for each other.

So here is where things stand: Monday is a big day for us from what we have been told by the doctors and that our situation will be reassessed to determine what next steps we will take to continue our fight. From what we know as of today we will be in the hospital until we deliver Miller. This could be day to day or 12 to 15 weeks. Our hope is to be able to return home with Dana on permanent bed rest and enjoy the comfort of our home. The hospital staff and resources have been great but we grow tired of living in a 10 x 12 room. Miller's heartbeat was strong showing numbers between 155 and 167. Dana is amazing and you will probably see me say this 1000 times throughout this journey. She is a trooper and gives me strength each day.

Dr. Uribe mentioned today that Dana could come off 100% bed rest and use the restroom on her own. It was a encouraging sign however we decided to take it easy for another day or two and see where we stand.

I would like to thank everyone for their calls and visits. We promise to call each of you back in our own time and we ask that you call if you would like to visit. Dana tires easily and we never want to say no to visitors but sometimes we need to have some downtime as I am sure you understand. We gain strength from the calls, emails, and visits so please continue to do so.

A special thank you to our family's we could not get through this without your support.

7/28/07 Update

In our efforts to keep everyone updated on our situation we created a blog spot for everyone to access and for you to pass onto others who would like to stay informed on our progress. We will try to update as often as possible. Aunt Julie gave us the "Miracle Miller" name so we thought it was perfect to share with all of our family and friends.

We first would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers through this very difficult time in our lives. We understand that there is nothing anyone can say that will take away our pain but all the support of family and friends make this time easier for us to deal with and enrich our lives more than we can ever express. We lost Lawton on Friday who is our guardian Angel looking over his brother who misses him. Lawton is in Heaven and will continue to look down on our family and keep us safe.

We are so blessed with so many great friends that it is overwhelming how fortunate we are to have such a support network. We encourage you to email, call, visit or just support us so please continue to do so and do not worry about the false perception of intrusion. We LOVE it and want to say thank you!

Today we moved to room 219 and I finally have a bed to sleep on that does not have a metal bar in my back while I am sleeping. My golf game will surely suffer but that means all of my Bruze's will have to give me strokes once I do get back on the course. Dr. Uribe, Julie Long and the Seton staff have been the best. We can not say enough thanks to them for their support and dedication to our family. Dr. Uribe is amazing and if any of you ladies want a Doctor with a great bedside manner and a true appreciation of what it means to be a nurturing Doctor he is the man you want to see. Julie is also amazing and we love her so much for her support and friendship. They both are part of our family and we can never show enough appreciation for their support. We love you both!

We are doing great and Dana is a tough lady who is exceeding all expectations. Miller is great as well with a strong 160+ heartbeat. I appreciate her more with each day she is in my life and though this experience has shown us many difficult times, she is truly my world and I love her more than she will ever know. If I could take away this pain for her I would give anything to do so, I just try to be a good supportive husband and say "Yes Dear" more often.

All of our numbers, counts, and medical prognosis are as good as can be expected. We do have a large hill to climb and we both are up for the fight and look forward to the day we bring Miller home. We both know that this is in God's hands and we pray everyday that he will continue to keep this path in his plan.

I also want to apologize for any grammatical errors or poor sentence structure now as I am typing from a laptop and love spell checker which is not available on this tool. Please forward this link to anyone and everyone you feel would like to share in our Miracle story. Thank you again for all your support and well keep the light on for you.

You can reach us at mattdelo@sbcglobal.net or my cell (512) 289-3766. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Dana, Matt, and Miller