2003 Journal Links
| Oct 26th - Archie is born |
| Oct 31st - Today, Archie is five days old |
| Nov 1st - We called the NICU at 3 a.m. |
| Nov 3rd - Archie's billirubin is down |
| Nov 4th - Today was Archie's due date |
| Nov 6th - Yesterday was the most trying day of our lives |
| Nov 9th - I think we knew that something |
| Nov 11th - Good day, bad day |
| Nov 13th - Archie looked great this morning |
| Nov 16th - If prayers were audible... |
| Nov 18th - I got to hold my son today |
| Nov 19th - John is back working again |
| Nov 20th - Archie slept all day |
| Nov 22th - I think I know what it’s like to be deaf |
| Nov 24th - Archie decided to stop fighting the ventilator |
| Nov 27th - Thanksgiving At the NICU |
| Nov 28th - John held Archie tonight |
| Nov 30th - If Archie doesn’t like something, he let’s you know |
| Dec 3rd - Archie will go for his first plane ride |
| Dec 5th - Tomorrow Archie will travel to Charleston, to the city where his father was born |
| Dec 8th - We got up extra early |
| Dec 10th - Although I spent the entire day at the hospital... |
| Dec 14th - The doctors attempted to extubate Archie twice |
| Dec 15th - We’re going to buff ‘em and shine ‘em up |
| Dec 17th - Santa Claus introduced himself to Archie today |
| Dec 18th - Archie is doing well |
| Dec 19th - Archie is continues to do well |
| Dec 23rd - It is Tuesday morning |
| Dec 26th - “Are you sure you’re Archie Moore?” |
2004 Journal Entries |
| Jan 4th - John is holding Archie and feeding him his bottle |
| Jan 11th - We dressed him in a light blue sleeper |
| Jan 14th - Oh, how I've missed Days of Our Lives |
| Jan 18th - Patient & Family Satisfaction Improvement Survey |
| Jan 20th - Archie discovered his hands last weekend |
| Jan 15th - Babies like this |
| Jan 29th - Archie Moore is a flirt |
| Feb 11th - I'm watching Archie study his fist |
| Feb 23rd - Guess who gained eleven ounces his first week off Portagen? |
| Mar 2nd - My throat began feeling raw yesterday afternoon |
| Mar 10th - Tummy Time |
| Mar 15th - I hate those machines! |
| Mar 31st - Archie was not interested in his early intervention therapies today |
| Apr 13th - Well-baby check-up |
| Apr 21st - Today Archie's world got a little bit bigger |
| May 7th - It's difficult to write |
| May 30th - I took Archie to the CDS yesterday |
| Jun 20th - I know I don't update my journal as frequently as I once did |
| Jun 29th - We Achie to Budka's |
| Aug 26th - Archie fights sleep with a fierce tenacity |
| Sep 12th - Yeah, I know. I need to post more |
| Oct 26th - Today you are one |
| Santa Claus introduced himself to Archie today |
| by Anne Moore 12/17/2003 |
I watched today as Archie slept, his eyes moving rapidly behind closed lids. If the baby could speak, I
wondered what he would tell me if I woke him then and asked him about his dream. Do babies dream of images?
Black and white dreams first, then dreams punctuated with color. Do they dream of familiar noises, or a
comforting touch? Or does God give babies dreams full of truths and divine mysteries, dreams they’ll
forget as they grow older and more a part of our world?
Today I imagined that God gives babies like Archie, confined to the hospital, very special dreams. I like to
think that God shares with Archie in dreams a bird’s eye view of his home on Tupelo Drive, of his nursery filled
with things picked out just for him, of his yard and his dogs and his parents laughing... Images woven into a
promise that he is meant for a life outside of the hospital if he can just hang in there a little longer.
“We weigh the benefits against the risks,” Dr. Atz explained. “And for Archie, the benefits of surgery now
outweigh the risks.”
“I agree,” I told him, my forearms resting on the baby’s crib. “He can’t continue to exist like this, hanging
out on this vent indefinitely. It’s time to take the next step toward getting the little guy home.”
Archie is scheduled to go to surgery early Friday morning. Tomorrow John and I will be educated as to what to
expect during surgery, as to what expect upon seeing Archie when he’s returned to the PCICU. Tomorrow John and
I will meet with Dr. Bradley, Archie’s surgeon. And tomorrow we hope to be permitted to hold our son, to cuddle
him close for the first time in two weeks. Tomorrow will be a big day for our family of three. Friday will be an
even bigger day.
Santa Claus introduced himself to Archie today, the baby dragging himself free from the confines of sedation long
enough to greet the jolly old elf. “Archie! It’s Santa!” I exclaimed as John snapped photos of the moment. “Can
you believe it?”
“Santa, Archie has surgery on Friday,” I said. “He wants a good surgery for Christmas.”
“That’s what all my children wish for,” he responded. “What I can promise all of them is that they’re in good
hands here.”