http://scribblesandcrumbs.com/2014/12/22/to-the-momma-of-a-chronically-and-critically-ill-child/
To the
Momma of a Chronically and Critically Ill Child,
I’ve seen you in those
hospital rooms. I’ve seen you hand your child off to surgeons, not
knowing if you would ever get to hold them again with a
beating heart. I’ve seen you pray, hope, and hold on to faith with a sheer will that would put most to shame. I’ve seen you
hold your babies with tears streaming down your
face because this kind of
sickness isn’t the kind that just comes and goes, this is the kind where no one can assure you that your
child is going to be okay.
You are brave. You are strong. You are loving.
You fight for your children when they can’t fight for themselves. You
hope for them and you stay positive for them, and then run to the bathroom just to cry in the stall where they can’t see. You
research
and talk to doctors and talk to other parents to find the best possible
treatment plans and solutions to give the best life to your child. You
take part in
care
for your child in ways even some in the medical field are intimidated
by, dropping NG tubes, changing trachs, giving IV meds through a Broviac
at
home.
You go to the places no one wants to go. You know a side of the world
that most would like to pretend doesn’t exist. You call your children’s
hospital your
home away from
home, and while the rest of the world may find that sad, you see the hope. It’s the place that gives your child a chance at life.
I see you, momma. And you are loving that child unconditionally, just
as you should. You are standing beside them come hell or high
waters, and you are doing a good
job. You are giving them the best.
You are their cheerleader. You are their smile maker. You are the one that knows their favorite songs and favorite
toys. You are the one that knows how to calm them down, how to hold them, how to love them best.
While other
parents
know everything about their child’s sleep habits, you know everything
about your child’s vitals– where their normal sats should be, what their
resting
heart
rate is, their normal pressures. While other parents can talk about
their kid’s feeding schedules, you could talk all day about your kid’s
anatomy, what surgeries are next, or what treatments are on the radar.
While other parents are teaching their kids to crawl and to walk, you
are teaching your’s to drink from a bottle just to get rid of that dang
NG, teaching them to bear weight on their legs and rebuild their core
from weakness of lying in a hospital bed all day. While other parents
look forward to going out on a date night without kids, you look forward
to the moments when you can grab enough
hands to shuffle around a bunch of machines and a hospital crib to just hold your baby.
You are brave. You are strong. You are doing a good job.
You are a mom. You would do anything for your child. And some of you
have to brave the path that no parent should have go down. Instead of
debating the best way to introduce solid foods to a baby, you are making
decisions with doctors on quality of life for your child. Instead of
choosing diaper methods, you are choosing between cremation and burial.
Instead of planning a first birthday party and stressing over the
details to make it perfect, you are planning a funeral… You are a mom.
You would do anything for your baby, even when it means they are in
heaven and free and you are the one left here to suffer.
To those of you, I see you. Hold on to hope.
This is not a path anyone chooses. You did not do anything wrong to
make this happen. Your child did not do anything wrong to make this
happen. This does not make you worse or better than any other parent. It
just makes you different. You love your child the same, you just
experience things differently than the “normal”.
Keep on doing what you are doing, loving that kid no matter what.
You are doing a good job.
You are a good mom.
Love,
A Momma Who Knows
