Halloween fever

The Halloween season is in full swing, and the malls aren't the only ones peddling fear. As if the mass hysteria surrounding the economy weren't enough, virtually every media outlet, medical facility and educational institution has been broadcasting regular updates on the H1N1 death toll ticker. Notifying the public about a health threat is certainly a laudable endeavor, but how exactly do I benefit from daily updates on the number of children who have fallen victim to the flu? To make matters worse, the majority of these stories attempt to reassure their readers by pointing out that most of the young victims had "underlying health conditions", as if their loss is somehow less painful due to the fact that life dealt them a rotten hand to begin with. As the father of one of these medically-challenged kids, I can assure you that we harbor the same hopes and dreams for Bryce as we do for our more robust child. My heart goes out to all the parents who've lost a child to this or any other illness, especially those whose grief has been marginalized due to the circumstances of their child's birth.


Fortunately, we don't have any spooky news to report from the Sonnek household. Everyone is healthy, and Bryce continues to exceed expectations. In fact, he's officially outgrown his newborn diapers and outfits, as he cracked the eight pound mark this afternoon, and he's looking better with each passing day! Hopefully, we're done with all of the preemie tricks for a while, and now we can just enjoy the treat (a healthy baby boy) that we've been anxiously awaiting. Print this post