𝟮𝟮𝟯 𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 🖤

Oh, Oliver… I’ll admit, it’s one weird milestone I never fathomed ‘recognizing’… It’s a day I did not celebrate with your sister; I suppose I never had a reason to… It’s a day I took for granted; after all, she was so easy to “keep alive”. It’s a day I only began to pinpoint after watching your biggest brother ‘fight for life’ for 222 days straight; it’s a day called ‘223’, that Theodore took his last breath.

And here we are together at ‘Day 224’; I can’t help but document the unusual circumstance in which you’ve officially outlived your brother. It’s a day I’ve now been lucky enough to “celebrate” twice-over, with both you and Arthur. It’s a day I get to watch you inhale without a nasal cannula. It’s a day that I’m privileged to lay you down in a quiet crib; there’s no bright hospital lights or nurses waking you throughout the night. It’s a day I get to shovel food into your mouth and dress you in whatever I want without needing to disconnect IV lines. It’s a day I never got with Theodore; it stings in the worst way possible… Yet, gratitude floods my heart now watching his three beautiful siblings carry his memory into each day that he wasn’t given. Life and death each claimed their spot in ‘Day 223’ for our family; my brand new perspective was set into motion. And, whether it’s day 224, or 10,224…. Theodore surely taught us that ‘any random day is always worth celebrating’. #CHDAwareness