The Seasons: A Poem

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Sunrise over Amazing Grasses Family Farm The mad Artist wields His brush, Painted colors rush, To life and give flush, Before the quiet autumn hush. The life seems to pour, As colors fall to the floor, To be seen no more, Outside the dark, grey door. Brightness from below, Sun upon the snow, High, cold clouds blow, Flakes and ice appear to grow. The man melts with little seen, Underneath, pale, grey green, Hides life in dark unseen, Waits for warmth and to careen. Buds on branches show, Patience starts to grow, Trickles, streams and veins flow, Bringing fruits of melted snow. Sprung to life it springs, Bees, birds, sound rings, Lush green flings, Its gift bounty brings. Green growth gives one last rush, Underneath the Painter's brush. The mad Artist wields His brush, before the quiet autumn hush. More poetry is available from James M. Hahn in  The Last Dragon and Other Poems  available now. My new book of cryptogram puzzles " Secret Messages from the Saints " is avai
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An update and recap on Catherine

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I stopped by the hospital on my way to work to see Catherine. We still do not know what time her surgery will be. We've been waiting for over 24 hours for the hospital to give us a time. It is a bit nerve racking not knowing, not being able to prepare. Since yesterday was a national holiday not much was happening at the hospital so I suppose we shouldn't expect to have had a time planned since she was an add-on to their regular surgery schedule.

Although it feels like we're back to square one, I know we really are not. Catherine is much healthier now going into this surgery. Many have asked why they didn't do this during the first surgery and what is the difference. So, I want to try to clear things up.

In March the ultrasound showed Catherine to have a condition called Duodenal Atresia. This happens when the tube that connects the stomach to the intestine is either not formed or completely blocked. Catherine had stopped her growth pattern so the doctors decided we needed to delivery 3 weeks early (her due date was the 24th). This was not a surprise to us.

During delivery Catherine aspirated some blood and was not breathing when she was born. The doctors quickly revived her but her lungs were injured and she needed lots of help getting her lungs back to normal.

After stabilizing her and placing her on the ventilator the doctors turned their attention to her stomach because of the ultrasound readings during pregnancy. Instead of Duodenal Atresia they discovered Catherine had what is called malrotation. Basically the intestines, stomach, etc are not in the correct location. This condition has the potential to be fatal because of the possibility of the intestine dying. The doctors weighed the seriousness of her lung problems against the seriousness of the malrotation and decided for an emergency surgery to correct the malrotation. Because of her unstable condition all they wanted to do was straighten out the malrotation problem. Basically they wanted to get in and out as fast as they could.

After the surgery the surgeon told us that the Duodenal Atresia could still be present but she highly doubted it. We knew then that there would be the possibility of another surgery. Over the next few weeks Catherine improved a great deal to the point that she no longer needed a ventilator, blood pressure medicine or anything else except a little oxygen and fluids.

With this improvement the doctors began to move toward feeding her. She struggled at first but caught on quickly. Plenty was going in but not much was coming out so they knew there was still some sort of problem. A series of x-rays revealed a partial blockage or what is called a Duodenal Stenosis. And this is where we are now. Waiting patiently for another surgery for our beautiful Catherine.

Your prayers are very much needed and appreciated.

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