Sunday, June 12, 2011

A new appreciation & a prayer of peace

My son has been in the hospital since Friday evening ~ his pediatrician admitted him after I took him in for a high fever.  We just found out late yesterday afternoon that he is battling a urinary tract infection.  Doctors are very cautious with little people and infections so he has been monitored for the past couple of days.
He was discharged today and now we are happily at home!


This was our first stay or even visit to the hospital as parents...it is all very unsettling at times.  However sensitive they are to people's lack of understanding of all things medical,  it, at times, is unavoidable for a doctor or nurse to use medical terms that just plain confuse or lead to more questions...our team however,was very patient with us and answered all our questions in the best layman's terms they could.  There are procedures that, quite frankly, suck for little people and for us parents.    After 30 min. and 4 different unsuccessful attempts to find a vein for an iv, I thought I was going to scream..."NO MORE...JUST PLEASE STOP !!! ~ I know my husband was feeling the same ~ the words in his mind probably wouldn't have been so nice.  :) 
It was after that horrendous experience, while sitting in a cold room holding my finally calm & resting son, listening to the beeps of a monitor and surrounded by tubes and cords that, praise God my baby didn't need, it hit me...there are babies that do need all this stuff, on a long term basis; and their parents live with it everyday ~ the hospital, their new norm.

It was then that I looked at those nurses who quietly came in every two hours to check Joah's vitals, who always, always asked us if we were comfortable & if we needed anything, who were more than willing to make a fresh cup of coffee for a mama that looked a little frazzled and who at 3:30 in morning gladly fulfilled my request for a big cup of ice for my warm diet mt. dew, it was then that I realized the enormity of their job.  They make people like me & my husband feel comfortable in a very uncomfortable environment.  They provide a face of continuity when there is a lot of uncertainty.   I know nurses, my sweet friend Emily (whose blog, by the way,  is a huge encouragement to me...check it out here) her dear mama Mrs. Nan, our friend Mary, who has graciously braided Tess' hair a few times, all nurses and all whose opinion I value, and now I know first hand know how valuable they are to the medical community.

It was also in that moment that I offered up a prayer for mama's & daddies who fight the daily battle of living with a child who is chronically ill.  I know several of those people also and I can only begin to grasp what life must be like for them ~ only by the grace of an Almighty God.

My child is soundly resting in his own bed tonight, no monitors, no 2 hr. vital checks, no more  shots, no cries from other children in the unit...it's just us ~   mom, dad, big sister and a recovering little boy.
For this Father we thank you.
For those who are not resting in their cribs tonight, we petition you...to grant comfort
For those by the sides of their children, we plea to you...to offer peace
For those who job is to care for these little ones...we again thank you...for their gentle hands and soft answers.
Big sister finding entertainment in simple things.
Even with a fever and not feeling his best, this guy can offer up the best smile.

2 comments:

  1. So thankful to God's tender mercies to the least of these!

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  2. I am so glad to hear that all of you are home. I had a similar experience with my little guy when he was ~6 weeks old. I, like you, comforted myself that we weren't the "sick" child on the floor.

    I agree with you about the nurses and the hospital staff - they took care of me as much as they took care of Michael. They checked on me, they made sure I had something to eat and something to drink, they even brought a bed in the room for me so that I could really lay down as opposed to sleeping in a chair. It is the little things that made a stressful situation so much more bearable.

    I found that after having our hospital stay that I have a new understanding for how to pray and care for moms who have sick little ones. I am also even more thankful to God for blessing me with 3 healthy children.

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