Just Checking In

This is picture is unrelated to today's blog, but it's just so cute, I had to share! GO STEELERS!

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting where I often am - the recliner with Emma asleep in my arms. Really, we do other things! Anyway, I was reading the Fall newsletter from the National Hydrocephalus Foundation. I decided to become a member, so one of their board members forwarded me their most recent newsletter. As I read a mother's story about her child's stay in the NICU, the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID, since only a few people we know call us on our home phone, and noticed that it said BIDMC (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) which is the hospital where Emma was born. I couldn't imagine what they would be calling me for except maybe to tell us our insurance provider hadn't paid a bill - a frequent occurance in our house.

I reluctantly answered the phone and was surprise to hear, 'Erin? This is Cathy from the NICU.' I couldn't believe it! If you don't remember, Cathy was one of our favorite nurses. What a joy to hear her voice! She was calling to check on Emma! This is why we love her! We chatted a bit and I told her about Emma's latest shunt revision. She was sorry to hear about it, of course. We decided that Emma and I would stop in to say hi to our friends at the NICU next Tuesday as both she and our other favorite nurse, Danette, will be there. I know it sounds strange, but lately, I've really been missing the NICU. Why would I miss a place my baby lived for 58 days without me? Why would I miss a place where I received so many pieces of bad news? Why would I miss a place were Emma had to go through so many painful things? I don't miss most of what happened there, but I do miss the people. I miss the friendly faces of the nurses. I miss the Q & A sessions we had with the nurse practioners. I miss the gentle way the doctors gave us Emma's diagnosis and plan for treatmnent. I even miss the time we spent with Emma in a way because it was special and we couldn't be distracted by all the things that surround us at home. We didn't take one minute for granted while we were there. We didn't get frustrated by her crying or the fact that we couldn't get anything done of ourselves. We just loved her and wanted to soak every part of her in. Of course, I wanted her home more than anything, and if I had it do again, obviously my choice would have been for her to be healthy and come right home with us, but it didn't happen that way. The NICU is part of our story now. Jeremy and I did a lot of growing up there and we all became a family there. I don't think the three of us would have the same bond today if we hadn't spent that time in the NICU.

I've been thinking about them so much lately that I actually had the phone in my hand ready to call yesterday morning so I could ask when Cathy and Danette would be around. I didn't know if I should though. They always say they want visitors, but we've already gone to see them twice. I figured maybe they'd moved on. I wasn't sure if they would remember us by name. I should have known better! I should've known that they care about us just as we care about them. After all, Emma was not the typical NICU baby. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and can't wait to see what they think of their little Emma Bean now that she is so big, smiley and chatty! (As I type, she is talking very loudly and grabbing her feet. I wish I knew what she was telling me!) Our NICU family will be amazed!





On another front, thank you for the prayers for Sayward and Spencer. They were released yesterday with a diagnosis of strep throat. They still aren't 100% sure about the swelling in her legs or if she actually did have HSP, but she is on the mend! Thank the Lord!