Smiling angel

Its 10:25 and we made it home from another day. Tallulah is doing great tonite. They told us that there would be ups and downs, tonite was definitely an up. She received her first blood transfusion this morning, and by this evening you could see the results. Her skin was glowing and her eyes were opening. If I didnt know any better, she smiled...twice. It was super magical. she is moving her arms a lot and the nurses say she tries to push their hands away from her face. she really doesnt like to be touched by the nurses, but responds beautifully to our touch. Her numbers stabilize wonderfullly when we are there touching and talking to her. I have never been a really religious person, but, Mark and I must have done something right in this lifetime to have been given such an amazing gift! She is already the light of my life. I will probably try to sleep early tonite to wake up and go back.

The blood she received was from one of our donors. How grateful am I for them. We WILL need more blood in a few weeks. I will post on here all of the details, so if you were considering donating...hang on. Tallulah will definitely need it as do many many many other babies. The nurse told us today that people can go donate to their local hospitals and request that their donation go to premies locally. What an amazing way to give back to your local community and actually see your donation saving lives in the faces of your friends and neighbors.

Ok. im done for now. Tallulah thanks you for all of your support and I will keep posting pic of her here for all of you to see our angel. Thanks so much for all of the calls, texts, emails, blood donations, thoughts, prayers and everything else that has make this crazy week a little easier. Tomorrow is day 6 and I pray to the lord above that T continues down the healthy strong path that she is on.

My big brother Ramon, lost his four legged daughter today. Gahli lived over 11 years and gave my family many years of laughter and memories. He is of course devestated, but knows that his dog Gahli is watching over Tallulah now and that make him feel a lot better. My love goes out to them through this rough time. Having lost a dog 3 years ago, i know the pain he is feeling.

Mark and I thank you guys again and will post more tomorrow. Exhausted, drained, and optimistic describes it to a T (pun intended!)
Richie & Mark & Tallulah