All of you who sent me comments or emails from my last Blog Entry, I can't thank you enough.

In times of grief or mourning, human beings are the best medicine.  Every day after I wrote my last blog entry I would look at the comments from you and that would help me get through my day.  And as they say"time heals all wounds" so getting through the days is sometimes all I feel I can accomplish.

Someone told me to enjoy the time I have now with Jude, when I'm not working, because I will regret it later if I don't.  I think that's very smart.  There's a whole movement now, in the book, television and magazine industries about "living in the moment:".  Apparently that's not a new concept,  Joe tells me that's been a Buddhist mantra for thousands of years.  Either way, I think it's a great goal to strive for in life.

Instead of worrying about the past (what did I do to cause my daughter's abnormalities?) or fearing the future (how will she live her life without the proper use of her arms?)  I am trying to enjoy the time I have with my new daughter.  It's seems very obvious that it's the only way to live.  It's just that as humans we get bogged down so much with our daily worries and fears and guilts.  All very non-productive feelings, I've learned. 

I want to give you an update on Jude's condition.  Many of you have asked.  We saw a geneticist this week.  He's a specialist who looks at her whole body and tries to connect the dots.  He's going to try to tell us, why and when and how Jude's limbs did not form correctly. We now know there is also a problem with her right arm, not just her left. Her right arm doesn't have a proper elbow.  It won't bend or straighten.  We won't know if that's permanent until we go to Shriners again in June for an ultrasound on her right arm. The geneticist also said it is common for kids with limb abnormalities to have problems with one or more of their major organs.  He's ordered an echocardiogram and a renal test to check her heart and kidneys.  As well as several blood tests.  I keep hoping for the best outcome when these new question marks arise.  I'll let you know if we get it.

For now I'm going to go look at my baby girl.  She's waking up from her nap and when I look right into her eyes and smile real big, sometimes she smiles back at me.  That's a moment I want to live in forever.