My wife and I would like to once again thank everyone for your prayers during the birth of our triplets. This has truly been a magical time for us and I am confident that your prayers played a very large part in a successful delivery. The babies are still in the NICU and will remain there for another couple of weeks optimistically. After losing approximately four ounces each after birth, they are back to their original birth weight and gaining daily. We are told that they may be able to remove their feeding tubes this week. Mia is the largest of the three and should have been taken out of her isolette this past week. Our babies were privy to a very special visitor immediately following their birth as Fr. John dropped in to bless each one of them. Shelley and I go over each afternoon and bottle feed the babies their lunch. Considering that the hospital is only two miles from St. John’s, it is extremely convenient for me to stop by at anytime to see my crew. My daughter Sydney is the self-proclaimed “proudest big sister in Naples.” Unfortunately, she is unable to enter the NICU (due to age restrictions) and has only been able to see her little brother and sisters through the glass. The nurses have been very accommodating, holding the babies up and having them wave to Sydney. This period of time while our little ones are in the NICU is what I like to refer to as “the calm before the storm” as Shelley and I both know what is waiting for us when the triplets come home. We are doing our best to catch up on our sleep and get everything in order for their homecoming.
I would like to recognize everyone at “The Birth Place” at Naples Community Hospital (NCH) for their incredible professionalism and support during this amazing process. From the surgeons to the technicians, the staff has been very accommodating ensuring that Shelley had the very best care during her four day stay. As Shelley’s roommate, I hardly felt that I was sharing a hospital room but rather that I was a guest in a five star hotel. The Neonatal Intensive Care staff has taken incredible care of our little ones ensuring that they are watched over 24 hours a day and have everything that they could possibly need. One of the nurses even suggested that we bring in three disposable cameras to place on top of the isolettes to capture pictures of their development while we are not there. Thank you to NCH for putting my mind at ease during this stressful process.
I was trying to find a good way to Segway into my next paragraph for the Memorial Garden, however, there is no easy way to Segway from birth to death. With that said, there has been a tremendous response to my recent suggestion that our parishioners consider addressing their final planning by meeting with me to discuss purchasing space in our beautiful Memorial Garden. Space still remains and I am readily available for the next few weeks to sit down with you and discuss this important step in your lives. The all inclusive cost to purchase a space is $1,200.00 and includes the opening, closing, urn, headstone and plaque. As previously mentioned, this price is roughly 33% of what you would pay elsewhere. The beauty of our Memorial Garden continues to be enhanced with additional landscaping and the addition of a fantastic new fountain. If you are ready to make St. John the Evangelist your final resting place, please contact me at 566.1678.
The construction fence has been erected and we will have broken ground on the Paniccia Prayer Garden by this weekend. Work will take place in stages beginning with the concrete pavers this week. While we are excavating the site, we will also address the drainage issue in the atrium of the PLC which has been an issue for several years. After the pavers are removed, organic topsoil will be rototilled into the existing ground cover to provide a healthy environment for the new plantings. In an effort to create a serene, quiet and spiritual space, the entire garden will be shrouded with mature Podocarpus shrubs, which will ultimately create a great hedge to buffer any outside noise. The entry into the garden will be accessed through the gazebo currently in place. The sides of the gazebo will be enclosed with lattice and confederate jasmine will grow through the lattice openings. There will be a total of 600 shrubs planted in the garden creating an amazing atmosphere as our parishioners meander from Station to Station. Other plantings in the garden include Bougainvillea, Croton, Green Island Ficus, Indian Hawthorne, Italian Cypress, Ligustrum, Cocoplum, Arboricola and many more. I would like to recognize Mark Stahlman for his hard work and dedication to this project. Due to his extensive experience with irrigation and landscape design, Mark has stepped in to serve as the project manager for the Prayer Garden. Although he is extremely busy with his own business, Mark is volunteering his time and talent in order to create a truly amazing Prayer Garden. I would also like to recognize Marty Gauthier for his work on the Prayer Garden. Marty is overseeing the design and fabrication of the Stations of the Cross as well as the St. Francis Statue. As you may remember, Marty was an integral component of the church renovation last summer. He has now moved on to participate in this project. Thanks Mark and Marty for your incredible gifts of time and talent.
Thank you so much for supporting St. John the Evangelist.