Friday PM - We're getting established with our new routine. I spend more of the weekdays with Adam, mixing in a few days of work, while Heidi stays at home with Grant during those times. On Friday we switch places with some subtle variations. Our sitters allow us to get some work in between staying with the boys. It's all rather chaotic, but somehow we manage to make it work.

This morning at the hospital was particularly interesting. The doctors make morning "rounds", which means a group of doctors, medical students, and other interested parties walk to each patient's room and discuss the progress of that patient as well as the plan for the upcoming day. Usually, the attending physician leads the discussion and engages the fellows (a doctor who is getting specialized training), residents, and medical students in a discussion about the patient. Dr. Fernando Stein is the attending physician and the head doctor of Adam's unit, and he is the one who leads the rounds during the week. Today he brought the entire group into the room, which is something I hadn't seen prior to today. In short, it was very enjoyable and quite informative. Dr. Stein is a great doctor and believes strongly that family members are an important part of the health care team. He went as far as to tell the group that they were mistaken if they thought a patient could be cured without family involvement. With all of the cynicism about the medical field that you hear, this was a welcome change.

Meanwhile, as this was going on, a photographer was busily taking pictures. Dr. Stein asked if I minded if the photographer took pictures of Adam and me for a book that he was compiling. Of course I had no objections, and I hope to have copies of the pictures posted as soon as I get them from the photographer.

With all of this excitement, I almost forgot to give the latest update on Adam's progress. His heart rhythm has settled enough so that they don't have to give the "smurf" medication, but will continue with two of the older but tried-and-true medications, propanolol and digoxin. As far as the cardiologists are concerned, he is nearly ready to come home. Dr. Stein, who is the primary care doctor, wants to work on the other issues but is preparing us to take him home, possibly within two to four weeks. It's easy to see that Adam is feeling better, as his eyes look sharper every day, his skin color is good, and he's showing an interest in drinking from a bottle. His favorite place is lying on his side while on a bed pillow in someone's lap. To see the progress he has made since first being born is unbelievable.

Lastly, I forgot to post an amusing story from last Sunday. While I was at work I got a call from Heidi asking me if I needed anything from Conroe. For those blog-readers not familiar with Texas geography, Conroe is about 15 miles north of our home in The Woodlands/Spring area. It seems she was talking on the cell phone to her brother Tyler and missed the exit. Actually she had driven past Conroe and was almost to the next town, Willis. At least she kept the car on the road, and didn't quite make it to Dallas.

On that note, I'll close this post. Thanks for reading...