girl drew

The past several weeks have been, without a doubt, the most difficult time of my life. Each day, I have been hopeful that Ramón’s status would change enough to dramatically alter the nature of my update. But it hasn’t, so here goes. On April 19, nine days after his stem cell transplant, an infection caused Ramón’s throat to close, which thrust him into cardiac arrest. He turned to me and – barely audible – said, “I’m choking,” before going down. What happened next was a blur. “We’re losing him,” someone shouted. “Somebody start compressions,” another voice demanded while I was escorted out of the room. As I took the longest walk of my life, though just down the hall, I heard over the intercom, “Code blue. Hospital tower south. Ninth floor. Room 903.” Code blue always makes me pause and close my eyes, mustering up every ounce of energy I have, knowing that it’s the most serious of codes: a resuscitative effort. With each repetition of Ramón’s room number over the intercom, I became...

I love this picture from a friend's wedding in Charleston in 2014. It looks so effortless and obnoxiously lovey-dovey. In reality, though, I kept demanding that Ramón look at me like he was in love because I saw the photographer lurking. You can't conclude that from the final product alone, but that's how we got there. Right now I'd give anything to know the final product that will result from the challenge we're facing, but unfortunately I don't. I do know Ramón needs your thoughts, prayers, and positivity. Although some photos can be staged (calculated, even), this one is developing at its own pace.  As always, I appreciate you and will update as things come into focus. 💙

Happy almost birthday to this guy! It's the night before Ramón's birthday, which means it's also the eve of his leukemia diagnosis. Ramón remains in the ICU, but he should be coming off all sedation in the very near future. Ramón's newly acquired immune system is working well so far, and his white blood cell count increased exponentially last week. Thank you for all the moves you busted for Ramón! I want to honor Ramón's birthday by toasting to him tomorrow. My first thought was to suggest coffee so he can get all the wake-up vibes possible. However, I won't stop you from getting rowdy for Ramón, either. We certainly weren't expecting another hospital birthday (and definitely not like this), so it's our duty to celebrate for him. Though there is still a lot of uncertainty ahead, we can put our own spin on tomorrow. Let's make it special by raising a _____ for Ramón!