Babies shouldn't come with wires, just sayin. That being said, I am very grateful for those wires and tubes. 50 years ago, my child would not have survived an early birth. In fact, most of the 48 babies in our NICU would never have survived early births and other birth/health complications. I truly have been impressed and am so grateful for modern technology and medical science. Despite all the bad in the world now, I am grateful to live in such an advanced age where all sorts of medicine, knowledge, and helps are available to the common people. I don't think I will take that for granted ever again. That medical science monitors my son's heart rate, blood oxygen level, and a myriad of other things. And not just his vitals, but the vitals of all 15 other preemies in the unit...and the other 2 units just like ours. A tiny tube runs from an automatic feeding machine to his nose to his belly and feeds him what he is unable to eat orally and sustains his life. Alarms go off when numbers drop or rise into certain ranges. Reminders tell when the food or medicine has been completely administered, They can give IV's of fluid. They can monitor the weight of urine and stool output to make sure the body is doing what it is supposed to. There are all sorts of medicines to help with every facet of baby well-being. There are warmers and special lights to help stimulate micro preemies to continue to grow and thrive. It truly is amazing!
And let me give a shout out to NICU nurses, doctors, and staff! Trained Medical professionals are cutting edge nowadays! It seems there is no limit to what they can learn to use to help these precious itty bitties. What an amazing group of people! They are truly special in the way they care for the teeny tiny babies with gentleness and smiles. And they don't get upset when a mama asks lots of questions or when the same mama asks for another pacy since her son decided to throw his on the floor again today. (He is a feisty little peanut.)
Sitting in that NICU with a birds-eye view of the master heart monitor and listening to the alarms go off all day, has reminded me how fragile life can be. And when I say fragile, I mean 2,3,4,5 pounds of skin and bones fighting for breath and the right to live. I am appalled that people even think that life should be terminated, and see how foolish those same people are when I look around the NICU at the 29-34 week premature little babies whom the staff are fighting to keep alive and whom have the same needs as all the rest of us. I am also reminded to pray for the little ones and their families. I don't know all the stories. I don't know what their little ones are facing. I can't hear what the doctors are saying to the weary mamas and papas. But I know how they feel. They wear the love for their children the same way I wear the love for mine. Our faces show what our hearts feel. We don't have to hide here in the NICU room of "semi-commonality". We all GET IT. So, as I there holding my precious boy and hear the monitors go off and watch the little vitals bounce all over the place, I am reminded to pray. What a gift that has been for me. As I watch those parents' faces drop because they have gotten presumably not good news, I can pray. As those nurses scurry around caring for their young charges, I can pray. And then, I can offer smiles and a kind word. I have been amazed at how far those simple things go.
As hard as it is to leave my older child and drive to hold my younger child, this time in the NICU has been worth it. I have a birds-eye and inside-view to beauty and pain, hardship and victory, and the miraculous grace of God who is the giver of all things. Somehow, I don't think my life will ever be the same, and for that, I am grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment