The Boys Who Lived

Part one

Once upon a time, there were two boys who lived and a girl who played. We will start with an introduction on the boys who lived. Don’t worry, the girl who played will have her own story later.

This story begins not on Privet Drive, but in a certain house on a certain street in the certain state of Arizona.

One of the boys who lived and who was known for his survival is a dog, although he thinks he’s a part cat/part human. There are also humors he’s an angel dog. His name is Moose, after the ice cream Moose Tracks. He’s used up about seven of his cat lives. He was born in Mexico, had a rough start to life and ended up a street dog. All sorts of odd street dog things happened until one day he was picked up by an ice cream truck and sent to a dog rescue, or so the tale goes. He acquired the name Ice Cream. There is a possibility he came to the United States on an ice cream truck, instead of being picked up on one. This part of the story will always be fuzzy unless a P.I. gets involved. He was adopted by a woman named Julie a few weeks later in Phoenix. His record said he was two years old. But doctors said that would be impossible unless he did elicit drugs on the street and it sped up his problematic teeth, which alone would show him to be approximately 300 years old in dog years.

He has a diaphragmatic hernia and doctors and surgeons were amazed at how far he has come, how he has lived. Yes, surgeons and consultations were involved. No surgery was performed on account of he had many toys to chase and treats to eat. He is living his best life currently, curled up in bed next to the second boy who lived.

The second boy who lived was a human boy. He was named Butternut Sammy and has since dropped the Butternut to be known only as Sammy. He was born in Phoenix, in an operating room, five weeks ago. He has no teeth. He was rushed to the NICU and is still on oxygen. He will have a heart surgery in a few months. He is dearly loved by his family, especially his sister. In utero, doctors told his parents, Julie and Ian, that they thought he had a genetic disorder called Trisomy 13. They weren’t sure the prognosis but were preparing them for possible miscarriage. The odds that he would live long if he was born into the world were slim. His parents were broken hearted. They prayed he would live and they would get to meet this baby, and God answered their prayer. It turned out Butternut Sammy had Trisomy 21. There were challenges but he made it to 39 weeks with a placenta the doctors said was weakening and that meant he might have to be delivered very early. He defied odds and right now he cries and poops and sleeps to tell the world about it.