What does Ava like about her big brother?  "Well, he's kind of annoying sometimes, but my friend Megan and I tell him that cops would respect people and then he goes off and plays with his own things."
What does Leif like about his little sister?  "Sometimes she plays cops with me," he replied.  "But I would like a sign that says No Girls Allowed - except you and you," he added, pointing to Amy and the editor, which suggests he already knows how to melt the hearts of older women.
What do the kids want to be when they grow up?  Said Ava, "A teacher or a brain surgeon or a singer."
Said Leif, "I want to be a police offi-cer, because of the crime.  I want to help good people and arrest bad people.  I want to make rescues, land and air rescues."
"Leif loves the Victoria Fire Depart-ment," said Eric.  "They know Leif and are so attentive and patient, especially Glenn Rowe.  Glenn is the husband of the nurse at Victoria Elementary School so Leif has come to know them and they are good friends of Julie."

Both Julie Page and Eric Ewald grad-uated from Hopkins High School and got reacquainted at the University of Minne-sota.  In the last few years, Julie went back to school and became a registered nurse.
"I wasn't really interested in medi-cine until going through the experiences with Leif and his brothers," said Julie.  "Watching and experiencing all the miraculous things they can do now for these babies really inspired me to become a nurse.  Leif and his brothers inspired me.  They were all such fighters."
Julie remembers the details of her sons' struggles to be born and to live.
"They had to be put on a ventilator to breathe," she said.  "They put them in an isolette to keep their temperatures up, because they couldn't do it by themselves.  They hooked them up to IV's first and then fed them through a feeding tube ...
"There were several surgeries.  We baptized Leif at the hospital right before his colon surgery.  It was April 15^th.  We didn't have time for our pastor to come, so we used the hospital chaplain, who grew very close to our family during this difficult time ...
"Leif's bowel had perforated but they gave a bath of his gut and he started to improve even while in surgery.  He had a ileostomy for a while ...
"A week later there was another sur-gery.  He had a distended stomach and doctors feared he was having more colon problems, but fortunately it was only abscessing at the wound site ...
"There was surgery on his eyes be-cause so much oxygen supplementation affected his retina.  Laser surgery didn't work so sclerabuckling was done to hold the retina in place ...
"He was on a ventilator for over three months and then he could go into a regu-lar hospital crib.  Then he was just on oxygen through a nasal canula ...
"I started breast feeding him and it was pretty amazing because premies have problems with the three simultaneous functions of sucking, breathing, and swal-lowing.  That comes natural for us.  I had pumped my milk right from the beginning and stored it at the hospital, but Leif was so tiny that just a few drops was a lot for him ...
"Ava is such a blessing.  Leif was a fragile little baby when we brought him home.  I felt strongly that Leif needed a sibling, after losing his brothers.  Leif is such a miracle for us.  He was in the most critical condition of the three boys ...
"When we were still in the hospital with Leif, social workers came to us, and they really helped facilitate services when we got home.  They set up services for school preparation even when he was a baby!  Just amazing ... Early intervention services are a saving grace.  I was so grateful for all the professionals ...
"Leif had a special occupational therapist when he first came home from the hospital.  They helped him learn to sit up and hold onto a bottle and roll over and crawl.  She worked with us to help Leif progress because he had so many medical complications ...
"It really gave him so much more potential to do well later on.  They have identified that need and work with children much earlier than they used to.  We have a such a good state for offering that help and through the school, too ...
"I married again in 2004 but Scott died suddenly ...  I coordinate things with Eric and Amy and it works well.  I'm just a couple miles from them ...
"I'm very grateful for the strong relationship we share.  We all love the kids, and we all work hard raising and providing for them.  We're always con-sulting each other on issues with the kids
-- from lunch choices to bedtimes -- and we bounce ideas off each other.  I think we've got two resilient happy kids ...
"Leif draws people in.  The nurse at Victoria Elementary School is Nancy Rowe.  We've become friends with their family.  Her husband Glenn is on the Victoria Fire Department.  Leif has met lots of the Fire Department now.  They are such neat people ...
"Leif seems to make friends with police officers and firefighters wherever he goes.  Recently, while spending the weekend up in McGregor with Leif and Ava, we met another Victoria firefighter, Tim Stedman, who patiently indulged Leif in all his questions.  Tim and Leif seemed to become fast friends."
Reflecting on Leif's story from the difficult beginnings and relived in the remembering, Julie stated with heartfelt emotion, "It certainly has been a journey, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.  My children are miracles and I'll never forget that and I'll always be grateful for them."
Click here to continue Leaf Unleashed.