Baby Brandon...an update

Brandon passed away tonight.  He left a stamp on our hearts in just seven days, 18 hours and 18 minutes.

Thank you for all of your prayers, strength, and love.  I know that his family appreciated it and felt every kind, compassionate, and inspiring word you thought, prayed, and said in their direction.

Please continue to to pray for his parents, Katie and Dino, and the rest of his family as they grieve and manage this tragedy.

Baby Brandon

Ladies and gentlemen....there is a new baby that entered this world who needs all of the prayers, good vibes, positivity, and well wishes that y'all can muster.  This baby, Brandon Oliver, was born to one of the sweetest, most loving, and amazing women I know.  Katie is the older sister of my best friend from high school, Jenny.  I spent countless hours at their house as a teenager and loved every hour i was in the presence of these strong, passionate women.

When Katie got pregnant I was overjoyed!  She had been waiting for a baby for so long and this baby was going to get spoiled!  Well, life threw her a curve ball and she spent the majority of her pregnancy on bed-rest.  Katie is a hard-working, busy, passionate woman and sitting still for a long time was not really part of her life....but for her baby, she made it part of her life.  Brandon was born on Monday, October 19 at 11:24 pm....and life threw her another (BIGGER) curve ball.

Here is the email Katie sent out shortly after Brandon was born:

Hello All,

As many of you know, Brandon was born on Monday night, 10/19/2009 at 11:24 PM. He was 7lbs 6oz and 20 3/4 inches long. We are so excited to have him.

Unfortunately, there were some complications in the baby's health that made things difficult. Although the birthing process was going really well, his heart rate decelerated during the process and failed to come up. I was sedated and he was born via emergency c-section (Dr. Strebel saved B's life,and I am so grateful for him!). He was immediately intubated and taken to the NICU. Dino was able to see him a few times and take some pictures. A few hours later he was taken by air to a hospital in Salt Lake City where he could get a higher level of care. I was able to see him for a less than a minute before he left, but he was really cute!

Currently, Brandon is intubated and they have completed some brain studies, including an ultrasound of his brain. They have noticed an area that seems to have gotten less blood flow than the rest. However, he kicks a lot and seems to know his Daddy (Dino is in Salt Lake City with him). He is very very cute, with blonde hair and green/blue eyes. We are waiting for a brain MRI to be completed on Friday so we can get a better idea of how healthy he is.

I will be with the baby on Monday, whether he is in Salt Lake City or Vegas. I will send a new email and more pics as soon as possible.

Thank you for all of the love and prayers you have sent our way! We appreciate all of you!

Love,
Katie, Dino and Brandon

As of late, God and I have been on a break.  I have been trying to figure out where i fit, what i think and believe about God, and which kind of pew i should sit in....Catholic, Jewish, or something else. When I heard from Katie and Jenny on Tuesday morning, i found myself pacing through my apartment, wringing my hands, and praying.  I know that my prayers, well wishes, good vibes, and positivity need to be echoed.  It would mean so much to me if you could all send some love towards that tiny baby and his family.

Brandon Oliver

A New Favorite Thing...on the internet

In class today, my professors introduced the class to the world of Word Clouds.  On this website, wordle.net, users input text and their tool inputs the different words into clusters with the most common words larger and the least used words smaller.  So....in honor of the Ani Show on Friday, I made some with her lyrics.  I am having troubles saving the image.....so I am working on it and will let you know when/if i figure it out.

32 Flavors 
Not a Pretty Girl
Untouchable Face

I think i have found my new waste-of-time!!

Interesting Twist

I got an en email this week that the website i used to meet Dylan was having a "Free Communication Weekend."  Things are going well with Dylan but we are still open to meeting and seeing other people.  So, after giving it some thought i decided to check back and see who i might get introduced to. 

Annie came onto my screen and after looking at her profile, exchanging what is important to us in relationships, and asking and answering each other some short answer questions we exchanged emails and i have started to get some butterflies.  I am interested to see what happens....hopefully we will continue the conversation. 

Whoops.

I have realized that I am....shockingly...behind.  I should be further along in my portfolio.  hell...i should have started my portfolio.  FML.