WARNING: Some people may be uncomfortable viewing a picture of a tiny baby hooked up to life-support equipment.
At 45 days old, Matthew Jr. has graduated from a special bed with a built-in heater to a crib. He stays warm thanks to being wrapped in a blanket fashioned like a papoose. EDIT: Another first is that he sucked his thumb once this past week.
Though his condition warrants that we remain aware that he is still fighting for survival, his continued progress also gives reason for realistic hope that this story will have a happy ending. It was interesting that one of his nurses casually referred to a time that she had been taking care of him weeks ago, reminding us that "that was when he was really sick."
Surely no child ever had stronger parents. To ensure that they would know everything about their son's condition, they watched Episode #6 of Hopkins. That's the reality television show of happenings at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which is where Matthew Jr has been staying since birth. One of the story lines involves a child born 10 weeks prematurely (Matthew was 9 weeks early) with the same condition that Matthew has. The doctor in the television show is on Matthew's medical team and the sick child was in the exact same bed that Matthew was in until yesterday.
Yesterday was very exciting for me because I had the very rare opportunity of seeing and, of course, photographing Matthew not only being held by his parents for an hour, but also being rocked by them. The physical circumstances of nearby equipment conected to the child by tubes severely limited my photographic options, but you won't find me complaining. Three of the keepers are shown below.
View attachment 233672
View attachment 233673
The first photograph of Matthew Jr.'s eye lashes
At 45 days old, Matthew Jr. has graduated from a special bed with a built-in heater to a crib. He stays warm thanks to being wrapped in a blanket fashioned like a papoose. EDIT: Another first is that he sucked his thumb once this past week.
Though his condition warrants that we remain aware that he is still fighting for survival, his continued progress also gives reason for realistic hope that this story will have a happy ending. It was interesting that one of his nurses casually referred to a time that she had been taking care of him weeks ago, reminding us that "that was when he was really sick."
Surely no child ever had stronger parents. To ensure that they would know everything about their son's condition, they watched Episode #6 of Hopkins. That's the reality television show of happenings at Johns Hopkins Hospital, which is where Matthew Jr has been staying since birth. One of the story lines involves a child born 10 weeks prematurely (Matthew was 9 weeks early) with the same condition that Matthew has. The doctor in the television show is on Matthew's medical team and the sick child was in the exact same bed that Matthew was in until yesterday.
Yesterday was very exciting for me because I had the very rare opportunity of seeing and, of course, photographing Matthew not only being held by his parents for an hour, but also being rocked by them. The physical circumstances of nearby equipment conected to the child by tubes severely limited my photographic options, but you won't find me complaining. Three of the keepers are shown below.
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View attachment 233672
View attachment 233673
The first photograph of Matthew Jr.'s eye lashes
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