ex machina
the eric update - day 20: the fourth. part three.
well i guess i've got to continue the tradition of releasing a new movie on the day before his weekly "birthday". tommorrow eric will be three weeks old, so that means it's time for 'the fourth. part three.' ( 'the fourth. part one.' 'the fourth. part two.' ). i'm not sure how many more of these movies i'll continue to make, but i suppose if it's called 'the fourth' you need to have at least four parts.
i can't stress enough that you should not click on that link without some thought about what the people around you will think if you start crying. once again, prerelease screening indicates that the 'tearability' factor has been cranked up to 11, mostly due to the choice of devendra banhart's "the body breaks" for the soundtrack. i had a difficult time selecting a soundtrack this week, so i recruited the help of matthew "i don't post much to my blog but i'm a great friend anyhow" moroz. i just gave him minimal direction as to what i was looking for and i think he came through spectacularly.
a few prerelease screeners have been taken aback at the bittersweet tone that's struck in this week's segment, despite all the great progress that eric has been making. it's intentional.
i wanted to give people the slightest of glimpses of what it's like to sit around the nicu - if you've ever had to do it, i think you'll know where i'm coming from.
7/24/2004 01:01:00 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Eric, you never cease to amaze me! These videos are truly beautiful. As others have suggested, I also hope you will consider putting all of this together in a book someday. You have a gift for being able to share what you and Kris are going through in a way that everyone can understand and "feel". Not only would it be valuable "real-lfe" experience for others going through a similar situation, but it would be a wonderful gift for Eric IV someday. Although you may want to publish well before he is teenager...he may not be as flattered at that age :-)
I have caught up with all that has happened since I was traveling last week. I am so happy that he is doing well. I absolutely adore the picture of Eric IV smiling. I have already hung it up on my office door! For some reason he reminds me of Grampy Snowdeal in that picture. I have not figured out why yet...but it was the first thing that went through my mind when I saw it.
I will be sending a postcard from Boston soon. I will also try to send one from every city I travel to until Eric IV is home. I love you all. My thoughts are with you every day. Give my nephew some Roo time from me. Love, Monica
By 
, at
8:27 PM
thanks monica. i trust the trip to europe went well. kris and i both think that the picture of eric IV looks like great grandpa too, although it's tough to say exactly why.
i'm sure eric will enjoy and all postcards that you send.
the book. everyone thinks i should make a book. i have a few ideas that i think might work well, but we'll see. just posting all the photos and creating the movies is enough of an extravagance that it's hard to imagine finding the time to put a book together. but i guess you never know.
The book is there already, Eric. It can be drawn from your daily updates, photos and movies. Since your time will be limited in the foreseeable future, all you need is an editor - and I'm sure you can find one in the family (ho, ho). As suggested by one of your site visitors, it also provides an inside look at the emotional ups and downs of micro-premie parents for nurses training to work in the NICU. Once again, your movie brings us up close with Eric IV - out in the world so early in life juggling all that technology while at the same time continuing to smile brightly. As time goes by, he (you and Kris) will have to deal with all the medical procedures less and less. It's exciting to see that he is now a full feeder! He knows he is loved deeply and continues to progress against great obstacles. Happy 3 week birthday, Eric IV! You are a very special boy. Love to all 3 of you, Mom
By , at
10:31 AM
Count me in as a volunteer if you ever make a book and need some layout/graphics/prepress.
By , at
2:43 PM
Yes, I think back to Grampy Snowdeal and his will to beat the odds for as long as he did. It takes courage to win our battles in life, In Eric IVs face I see that same courage and will to win this battle. He is part of a strong team of parents and grandparents who love him and send positive energy his way every moment of every day. Happy 3rd Sunday! SS
By , at
10:33 PM
thanks sondra, re:grampy and his will. i think you might be right.
I second the notion of making this blog into a book. You do an amazing job of conveying life in the nicu to outsiders. FYI, Jeff Stimpson posts weekly essays about his micropreemie son on his website and has converted those into a book due to be published in Septmenber (http://members.tripod.com/jeffslife/HOME.HTM). Alex is now five and has some lasting problems from his preemie days, but he had a much rougher road in the nicu than E4 has had so far. So I give you the link with the same caveat the nurses gave about the nicu book--you may not want to look right now.
Good luck to you and yours--I really enjoy your updates and am pulling for E4/Odin to continue his remarkable progress. Cindy
By , at
10:59 AM
[ rhetoric ]
“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”
the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh[ about ]
this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.
he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.
if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.
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