I'm thankful....

I've been absent for awhile; you know what? Having kids keeps you busy!

So here is another overdue giving of thanks, as a nod to the late great AJC sports journalist Furman Bisher. I'm not a sports journalist, and glad I have a day job.

I'm thankful for Fresh Market and for the work they put into preparing most of our Thanksgiving meal.

I'm thankful my family has low expectations in regards to my cooking.

I'm thankful pie makes up for almost everything.

I'm thankful for another pretty amazing year of Georgia football. It took me awhile to get used to Kirby being HC, but winning made the transition easier.

I'm thankful Lee Corso didn't pick Georgia for the WLOCP.

I'm thankful for the Atlanta Braves despite their Cobb county location. It's been so much fun to watch this young team play good baseball, and they're just getting started.

I'm thankful that the Celtics' growing pains are happening now in November as opposed to later in February. That said, I'm thankful that Brad Stevens is a basketball Jedi master.

I'm thankful for my obnoxious family.

I'm thankful for the Players' Tribune giving athletes a voice. Every person has a story and they are no different. The world becomes smaller as we share our stories. I'm glad they don't just shut up and dribble.

Twenty years ago, my Georgia besties and I talked about going to the Rose Bowl if Georgia ever made it there. I'm thankful that in January, we got to cross that off our bucket list.

I'm thankful for my counselor and having a relationship for the sole purpose of keeping me mentally healthy.

I'm thankful to remain in remission from major depressive disorder. End the stigma.

I am thankful for MyChurch (literally named MyChurch) and for our transparency. We don't claim to be perfect because we aren't and solely rely on the One that is.

I'm thankful for forever friends, those that have been there for thirty-plus years and those that have been there for three.

I'm thankful for still being madly in love with my husband, regardless of how annoying we are to each other.

I'm thankful for the God who is writing my and my family's story and who loves the story of redemption.

The year(s) in review...

Happy 2015! As expected, it's taken me a few years to return to any form of blogging, especially since our sports trips significantly decreased in number after the kids were born. But we've still managed some fun trips over the past few years, and have thus far been successful at brainwashing teaching our children about sports and they have already attended a handful of games with us. Because I'm going to include some events that we attended since April 2012, this covers a two year span. Hey, if ESPN can include multiple plays in a "Top Play", then I can include multiple years in a year in review. Besides, it's my blog.

Since 2012, Tony and I have attended twenty-five sporting events together. Jackson has been to two college football games, three college basketball games, 1.3 college baseball games and six MLB games. Natalie is a little more of a slacker at one college football game, one college basketball game, and five MLB games (though you have to give her a little bit of credit since she just had surgery for one of Jackson's MLB games). Here are my best of:

Best City to Visit: I have to admit I don't have a formula in how to figure this out. I purposefully exclude Atlanta, Athens, and Auburn. I am also going to exclude New York since it is my all time favorite city to visit and because I don't think it's fair to compare other cities to New York. This year's trophy goes to Pittsburgh, and no Tony has not completely brainwashed me as well. It's a great sports town, and we also managed to do quite a bit of non-sports activities, including visiting the Andy Warhol museum and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The food was great, walking around the city was reasonable, and the skyline is lovely. But that does not mean I'm moving there anytime in the near future (or in my lifetime, Tony).

Roberto Clemente Bridge

Visiting Hines Heinz Field

Best Facility: I could easily be a homer and say Turner Field or Sanford Stadium. But I won't. Begrudgingly, I'm going to say PNC Park. I really wish I could say Consol Energy Center (home of the Penguins) or the Barclays Center in New York, but I am partial to outdoor facilities. There are a lot of ballparks that have more history, and a lot of the newer ballparks that boast awesome views, but this one is special.

Tony gets his first win in Pittsburgh

Best Fans: Penguins fans. I've been to a handful of hockey games, but the energy for Game 2 of the second round of playoffs against the Rangers was like no other. Even though it was a playoff game, I'll give them the benefit of a doubt that they're like that all season.

Best Hall of Fame Induction Speech: Gregory Alan Maddux, first ballot HOFer, 355 wins, 3,371 strike-outs, 999 walks. My favorite line: "My brother, Mike, led by example. Everything I was about to do on and off the field, he had already done. I was very fortunate to have a brother that I could learn from. He even taught me a little bit about science. It has to do with a little methane and a lighter, and I still get a huge kick out of it today."

Best or @#$%^iest Play (depending on where your allegiances lie): This comes from the 2013 college football season. You know it, I know it. Let's leave it at that.

I'm thankful...

An overdue giving of thanks, and a nod to the late sports journalist Furman Bisher....

I'm still very thankful for online shopping.

I'm thankful for Omeprazole and the relief it gives me as my reflux worsens with age and coffee consumption.

I'm thankful for no crazy plays at this year's Georgia-Auburn game.

I'm thankful for Coach Mark Richt. The man deserves more credit than he gets as a football coach and as a builder of men. I am thankful that for him, the latter is more important than the former.

I'm thankful that in spite of their success, I am not a Florida State fan.

I'm thankful that Bisher wasn't alive to have written about Jameis Winston. I think he would have vomited all over his typewriter.

I'm thankful for being at Jason Heyward's first game as a Brave and seeing him hit a home run on his first plate appearance. I'll miss seeing him in right field.

I'm thankful that the Celtics are in the Eastern Conference. With only seven teams at .500 or better, they still have a shot at the playoffs. Yes I know, it's only November.

I'm thankful that despite us being a 'Cowboys' family, that I am not very invested in the NFL. Again, Bisher would have had to throw up covering some of the crap coming out of the League over the past few years.

I'm thankful for our nanny. I had no idea how I was going to leave my children to return to work after Natalie had spent four months in the hospital, but she made it amazingly reassuring.

I'm thankful for when I get to snuggle with my children individually. I'm thankful for when I get to snuggle with my husband individually. (I know, where's the Zofran?!)

I am thankful for the couples that have walked through life with us over the past year through small group at MyChurch. It is very true that life change happens in circles, not rows.

I am thankful for organizations like International Justice Mission, Compassion International, and Polaris Project. Violence against the poor, women, and children needs to end.

I am thankful to have gone to the only high school that has been in Camden County, and that because of that it has always been desegregated.

I am thankful and very proud to be a graduate of a historically black college and to have met and known some pretty amazing, smart, funny, and beautiful doctors because of it.

I am thankful for the training I received at Grady Hospital (yes I said it!). There are only a handful of medical schools that can boast of this type of experience.

I am thankful for Kimberly Bishop and the listening, objective ear that she lends to me and the truthful words that she continues to speak.

I am thankful for the faith of Kerriann Martin. No mother should have to go through what she has gone through, but she has consistently done it with grace; and when I say grace, I do mean GRACE.

I am thankful that God still redeems our stories. Beauty from ashes....

I still love football, but I'm beginning to wonder why.

Alright, I'm going to put in my two cents even though I know there are people who disagree and people who don't care. I love football. I marched for eight years because yes I do love music, but I really really love football. But WTF (told you I was gonna have to cuss) are we doing here?

Roethlisberger gets 6 games for rape allegations that were never charged. I know he only had to sit out 4, and that the Milledgeville police seemed to do as good of a job as that of Tallahassee, but he did regardless. Rice gets two games for knocking the $%^& out of his future wife, and Goodell only gives him the ban later to cover his @ss. Winston gets charged for rape, sits out zero games (except later when he yelled out profanities that are so uplifting to women), gets a Heisman and a National Championship. Reggie Bush gets improper benefits, Championship taken away from USC, and his Heisman is negated. Last time I checked, O.J. Simpson still has his. Oh, by the way, on the subject of the Heisman, yesterday they removed the word "integrity" from their mission statement. How convenient. http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/10/10/heisman-trophy-integrity-mission-statement

Treon Harris gets 'suspended' for sexual assault on Sunday, reinstated before Saturday due to the accuser dropping the charges. She's supposedly another student athlete. I'm sure no one pressured her to do that. Kids that do pot get more games than that. And just to prove that I'm not a homer, Hines Wards was arrested for a DUI by Dekalb Police, gets the charges dropped to reckless driving, and doesn't miss any playing time. Yeah, I'm sure alot of black men in the state of Georgia are able to do that. By the way, about 30 people will die today due to someone who is driving impaired.

So here comes Todd Gurley. Am I pissed? Yes. Pissed at the guy who shopped him then turned him in. Pissed that this happens on every major college football campus. And I'm pissed at Gurley for being stupid, you know, acting his age in this situation. He's twenty years old. I never did anything stupid at twenty years old.

I'm pissed that the NCAA says it is for the support of student athletes, but takes advantage of them in everyway at the risk of their livelihood; same thing with NFL being for safety. Anyone talk to Jim McMahon recently? I can't remember, and neither can he. Yes I'm well aware of the fact that athletes should know better. Jim McMahon says now that he would've played baseball instead. Definitely safer. I wonder how much Johnathan Taylor, former outfielder for the Dawgs is gonna make in baseball this year. Oh, yeah, none. He's getting ready to take his Series 65 exam from his electric wheelchair. He's going to make much more money as an investment advisor.

Mark Emmert, the president of the wonderful institution of the NCAA claimed $1.7 million from 2012-2013. Tyler Gaffney went to Stanford; he must be a pretty smart kid, and he was drafted by the New England Patriots. As the running back with the lowest NFL contract, he's supposed to make $303,000 this year. Average NFL running back career is around 3 years. Who has the highest contract? Adrian Peterson. And yes I may be comparing apples to oranges, but Robert Kraft is worth over $2 billion. Roger Goodell is set to get $105 million in 5 years. The average NFL salary is $1.9 million. The average career is 3.3 to 6 years, depending on whether you ask the Players Association or the League.

So back to Todd Gurley; did he let everybody down, especially his own teammates and his coach who is trying to help him become a good man? Absolutely. Is he stupid for getting money for his signature? Yes, because it's against the rules. But I'm definitely one who will ask why is there that rule and should it be there anyways. I'm pretty sure music majors that are given full scholarships can still get paid for gigs played outside of the university. Again, apples to oranges.

But is it really? Difference is that you might get paid $100 for a gig. Cost of a red Georgia Bulldogs Nike No. 3 Limited Football Jersey $134.95. Yeah, so much goes into cost of making that jersey that I'm pretty sure Georgia doesn't make much money from that. And I hope this will make more and more people ask why Mark Emmert gets to make $1.7 million this year while these rules still exist. Oh I forgot, the NCAA passed a rule for athletes from the power conferences to get stipends, so they can get paid. Wonder how much Jameis Winston is gonna make this year. http://q.usatoday.com/2014/08/05/florida-state-pay-jameis-winston-heisman/

Is it really just a game?

In the past several weeks and months, believe it or not, I have become pretty disgruntled about football. Between the NFL concussions story, the bullying story with Martin and Incognito, and the Jameis Winston sexual assault case, there are parts of me that would love to leave the game. The problem with all of these stories, even if Winston is really innocent, is that each of these stories make the game bigger than it really is. Football is not bigger than having early Alzheimer's and depression. It is not an excuse for the NFL physicians who tried to discredit a fellow physician's findings. It is not the platform to defend bullying. And it will never in hell make it okay to call a woman who says she was raped a whore or a gold digger.

Reading an article written about the Winston case (http://deadspin.com/jameis-winston-isnt-the-only-problem-here-an-fsu-teac-1467707410 if you're interested), really brought it home for me this week. Mainly because I too have been more than guilty about making football bigger than it really is. I've been a jerk to my family and have done my fair share of yelling at someone if they tried to talk to me after a football loss. After reading the deadspin.com article, I realized how much of what is excusable in football is so against the grain of what I find honorable and worthy. I remember asking Tony after reading it, why do I even watch football?

And then Aaron Murray tears his ACL. Now realize I'm biased. I'm a Georgia fan. I loved my college experience, I loved marching with the Redcoat Band, I love the wonderfully eclectic city of Athens, and yes, I love Georgia football. But I was never a huge Aaron Murray fan until this year, and really more so in the past several weeks. Honestly, in the past he's reminded me a little too much of Tony Romo. You can look at that as both a compliment and a criticism. But he's a good kid. There aren't pictures of him online with him holding up a keg with a scantily clad female at a NASCAR race. After the Auburn loss, this is what he tweets: "Would do anything to go back and start playing as a freshmen again. These 4 years have gone by way to fast. I am a Dawg for life!" (No one cares about proper spelling on twitter.) The next day he spent time with kids with development disabilities. http://t.co/65Rs7VrbLr And, as evident by the leakage in his eyes during the senior night pregame ceremony, he loves the University of Georgia.

And then I realized something, what I love about the game is COLLEGE football. I love that Tony and I have this huge game between us every year based on our beloved schools. I love that my best friends cheer for the same school where I studied until 3am for an OChem test later on that day. I love that I have school credits for marching in the Redcoats to basically perform at a football game each week.  And this kid, this too short, too small, not-enough-big-wins kid loves COLLEGE football too. For him, it's not about draft stock. It's not about getting "his" at the end of the day. It's about Georgia. And as long as there are kids like him on my team, I'll be a Georgia football fan. As long as there are kids like that playing COLLEGE football, I can watch the game. So is it really more than a game? Maybe not, but in a way, it is.

We're home!!!

One hundred twenty-three days after Jackson and Natalie were born, our family was finally made complete when Natalie was released from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and we returned home!

On April 5, 2012, after spending nearly nine weeks on bed rest, Jackson and Natalie were born at 34 weeks and 6 days gestation. Our pregnancy was complicated with IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) and both were small, Jackson weighing 3lbs 13oz, and Natalie weighing 2lbs 12oz. They were both admitted to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at the Medical Center in Columbus. Jackson had few problems and went home after thirteen days, and since then has acted like a full-term baby.

Natalie became quite sick after eight days, mainly with issues in not being able to tolerate feedings. She was treated as having presumed NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis), an intestinal disease found in preemie babies. She recovered, and then became sick again. She again was treated as having presumed NEC, and again recovered. Studies after this episode were fairly normal, and feedings were resumed. After a very short time back on feedings, she again had issues, and she was then transferred to CHOA (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta). Further workup revealed coarctation of the aorta, which is a narrowing of the large vessel coming from the heart. Her doctors felt that decreased blood flow from the coarctation to her intestines was the likely cause of her issues and she had surgery on May 29th. She recovered quite well from the surgery and was ready to restart feeds.

She again had issues tolerating feeding, which was initially felt to be due to her prematurity. Studies again were fairly unremarkable, and only after having issues with feeding a second time at CHOA (fifth time overall), a special study revealed a narrowing at her transverse colon. She had surgery later on that day, and again recovered quite nicely. She had a few days of not being able to tolerate feeds, but after being vigilant about her having at least two stools a day (yay for poop!), she started being able to take feeds, and then spent about a month a half in the NICU basically being a feeder/grower.

When Natalie was transferred to CHOA, we also relocated temporarily to Atlanta. We have been so thankful that Liz's sister Christine and her family lived in Atlanta, and were so helpful in helping babysit Jackson so that Tony and Liz could visit Natalie as well. We also were on the receiving end of help from the rest of Liz's family as well as Tony's parents. Liz's friend Jennifer also lent us some baby gear to help us get by during our stay. They were all extremely supportive when Tony went back to work in Columbus after Natalie had stabilized from her first surgery. And again, we're thankful that Columbus is just a short drive away from Atlanta so that Tony could visit every weekend.

On June 30th, eighty-six days after they were born we were finally able to hold our babies together for the first time!

The stay in Atlanta was not all bad: Jackson took in his first baseball game at Turner Field.

He also started sleeping through the night! We were able to spend precious time with Christine and her family before their move to southern California.

And we were able to get some really good food in Atlanta at some of Liz's favorite restaurants! But we have been so ready to get home.

On August 6th, Natalie was released from CHOA. She still has a feeding tube through her nose, but is gaining weight, and is now over 8lbs. They will still closely follow other heart valve abnormalities (a genetic gift from Tony), but is really starting to thrive and catch up with her big brother (now weighing over 13lbs). He is already showing her the ropes in being talkative, and one of our pure joys is watching Jackson and Natalie smile at each other!

We wanted to fill everyone in on how we were doing, but mostly say thank you to so many who have wished us well and prayed for us, cried with us, encouraged us, fed us, taken care of my patients for me, gave us a visit, and cheered on our little ones, especially Natalie, for the last several months. We've come a long way since Liz was first admitted for strict bed rest at 26 weeks, and we know you have played a big role in our miracle babies' lives! We thank God for you and will keep you in our prayers forever!

Jackson at 3lbs 13oz

Natalie at 2lbs 2oz

All grown up and ready to go home!

Thanks and love,

Tony, Liz, Jackson, and Natalie Borelli

Thoughts from the NICU...

We are now forty-six days into being NICU parents. For forty-five of those days I've been trying to process my thoughts about that fact (only because the first 24 hours were a blur). I attempted to prepare myself for being a NICU mom during the nine weeks of bed rest prior to our delivery, and since then I've realized that the four weeks I spent as an intern in the NICU does little to help. You read that it is a roller coaster, only to find out that is true, and that ups and downs in regards to your children are difficult to stomach. We've had to go through two setbacks in getting our little girl home. And at the same time we've been able to celebrate being parents of a NICU 'graduate' who's only resemblance to a preemie is his small size for his age, and who gets to keep us up like every other newborn.

Remarks have been made about how hard this must be for us. And though I would never wish being a NICU parent on anyone, in processing my thoughts, even the ones that asked, "why me?", I've realized at the end of the day, I'm thankful.

• I'm thankful that when I wanted two children but only thought I'd have one because of my age, I was blessed with twins.
• I'm so very thankful that a hospital admission for observation and bed rest was stretched into three weeks, and almost six more weeks of bed rest was spent at home.
• I'm thankful for the friends and family that have thought of us and prayed for us during that time.
• I'm thankful for the people we don't know that prayed for us anyways.
• I'm especially thankful for the moms that have prayed for us that have endured so much more, and more than any mother should ever have to go through. You know who you are. I think of Job when I think of you.
• I'm thankful for my partners who have been taking care of my patients.
• I'm thankful for my two beautiful children.
• I'm thankful for the singing noise my son makes when he's sleeping or eating.
• I'm thankful that my little girl has so much fight in her. She is truly the one who is making me stronger, and then again, don't all daughters do that to their mothers?
• I'm thankful for the NICU nurses and staff that have loved on my children and us.
• I'm thankful that God understood where I was coming from when I bargained with Him.
• I'm thankful for little brother Eddie, who made sure I did as little as possible when I was on bed rest and has been an extra set of hands since the babies were born.
• I'm thankful for the women who have locked arms around our little family who despite the distance between us, have never let me feel alone.
• I'm thankful that when I haven't been strong, Tony has.
• I'm thankful that no matter what happens, our Father is faithful and true.

Jackson

Natalie