Happy Grandparents!

My regular readers can testify to the fact I often point out my material for these posts comes to me in one way or another. Oftentimes, I do not have to go looking for appropriate material. Such is the case with this post that has very special meaning for my cousin, Dale and his wife, Kay. They are the proud, happy grandparents of their first grandchild, Reed John Patrick, born on Friday, January 18, 2013 to the proud parents, Jeremy and Kelli Patrick in St. Cloud Minnesota. Both parents are doing well and excited to start raising their young son. Their Facebook pages are filled with pictures, Likes, comments and well wishes from many friends and relatives.

The reason this healthy birth is so special is because one of the grandparents carries the gene that causes pediatric kidney disease, previously known as infantile polycystic kidney disorder. You may learn more about it by clicking on the Mayo Clinic.org's website by clicking here.

This news is especially exciting when one considers Jeremy was Dale and Kay's first born child. They were told there is a one in four chance of a child being born with the disorder. Since Jeremy was a healthy child, they tried three more times and lost all three babies within a couple of days to the disorder. I cannot imagine the heartache that had to give to them.

Dale is my first cousin and five years younger than me. He was always a little younger, slower and not quite strong enough to keep up with his two older brothers, Gene and Gary and me. Now, he is my closest cousin. In fact, one time at a family reunion many years ago, Dale accidentally beat me in a game of chess. Now, he will not play me in a rematch. He just gives his big smile and says something like, “Why would I want to ruin my perfect record against you?” Then he laughs and teases me every opportunity he gets. I digress.

Back to the reason for this post: Reed John Patrick. Here is a picture of the newest member of our extended Patrick family:


Click on the image to make it larger:

Both Jeremy and Kelli are 2005 graduates of North Central University in downtown Minneapolis. They were married July 19, 2008 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Kelli's degree is in youth ministry studies and she works as a youth minister in St. Cloud. Jeremy's degree is in youth development studies and he works a couple of jobs, one of which is utilizing his degree. I always like to see young people using their post-secondary training in the field they were trained to work.

Congratulations once again to the proud grandparents and parents of young Master Patrick!

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike