When Julia was born and whisked away to the NICU, I was sent to the baby floor without my baby. I was okay, though, knowing she was where she needed to be for the doctors to evaluate her and make a plan for her care. The next day we received the trisomy 18 diagnosis. We decided we could no longer be separated from her and she was discharged from the NICU. By this time she was already breathing on her own without supplemental oxygen. Julia joined me in the baby floor until I could be discharged (after a c section) The hospital staff were all kind and respectful of our situation. They left us alone and allowed us to bond with Julia and just be together. There was one nurse, though, who made a lasting impact on us. She was our day nurse and had asked to be assigned to us each day. She shared with me that her first child passed away soon after birth. She did not get to take care of him or mother him until he passed away. She did not want that for me. She knew we may only have days with Julia (only God and Julia had other plans), and she wanted to make sure we made the most of them. She was very kind and open with her story and with her tears. She made us feel like we were not in the wrong place on the baby floor. Our baby was special and should be celebrated, too. We will never forget her. I hope one day I can find her again and share Julia's story with her.
It is quite amazing that one kind person can have such a tremendous effect on our experience and never be forgotten. Thanks for sharing about the nurse-I hope that she finds out about Julia one day.
ReplyDeleteWe had a nurse who came in one day-- about week 4 of a 6 week hospital stay. She looked at my husband and me and said, "you two look like hell." She offered to call in a volunteer and encouraged us to go for a walk. There was no way in the world that we would have both left our daughter- even for a minute, so we declined. Ten minutes later the same nurse came in, wearing a yellow gown for hygiene. She said, "ok, the other nurses are going to cover for my other patients for half an hour. I want you both to go. I will hold your daughter the whole time and she'll be fine." She cared about us and she went out of her way to be kind. It was a simple gesture but we will never forget it.
That is so awesome!!! I wish I had a nurse like that advocating for me when my son was dying.
ReplyDeletePraying for your family!