Happy Birthday Maddie!

Five years ago she was brand new. I had only seen a little glimpse of her before the nurse whisked her out of the operating room and down the hall to the NICU. At this point (8:30 ish) they still had hopes that she would still be coming down to my room before the end of the night. Five years ago I waited as I ran through the channels of the boring television not wanting to watch "ER" because it didn’t feel right. Instead I watched a MASH reunion.

Fifteen days in the NICU; 2 months on the apnea monitor; three trials of formula; 4 years of assorted therapies and here we are:

Maddie on her fifth Birthday with the puppy that she made with her friend at Build-a-Bear…