Counting Our Blessings

We're recovering from a rough week. Our little girl spent time in the hospital.

Lily was admitted to the hospital Wednesday with RSV and spent a few days there. She's home now and everything is fine, but it was a little scary at first. Even though we spent 68 days in NICU with Ann Catherine, I still cried on the way to admit Lily to the hospital. It just broke my heart that my little girl was that sick.

Lily was such a trooper. She had a wear a nasal cannula so she could get oxygen. She fought them when they first put it on, but then she wore it without any complaints. For the most part, she just wanted to be held. I spent the nights with her, and then in the morning Chris would come by so I could go home and shower. She would be cuddled in my arms, and then in true "Daddy's girl" fashion, she would almost jump out of my arms when Chris came into the room. That little girl loves her daddy!

Our stay was short and relatively easy when you consider how bad things could have been. But during our stay, I gained such a new compassion for people with sick children. I mean those children who are really sick with cancer or cystic fibrosis and who go into the hospital for weeks or months at a time. I just don't know how those parents do it. I know how tough this was for me and it only lasted a few days. I know how badly I hurt as a mother because my baby was sick and I couldn't do anything to make it better. I know how torn I felt between taking care of Lily at the hospital and spending time with Ann Catherine at home. I know how tired and weary I was from sleeping on that hard couch and being woken up every hour or so at night by Lily's cries or a nurse's visit. Your lives are absolutely uprooted when your child is in the hospital. It's tough.

On second thought, I do know how those parents of really sick children do it. They rely on God, just as we did when Ann Catherine was so critical in NICU. Because when your world is turned upside down, you really have no other choice.