11.24.16

Our First Thanksgiving Home. 

 

This time last year we were 30 days into what would end up being a 152 day stay in the NICU. 

This time last year we couldn’t hold our son the first half of the day because he was hooked up to a type of ventilator where he couldn’t move positions often and was also receiving a blood transfusion. 

This time last year we were just starting to wake from the fog we found ourselves shuffling back and forth from the hospital in. 

This time last year we had not been delivered all the diagnoses that our micro preemie had coming. 

This time last year we were scared, exhausted, and numb. 

BUT…

This time last year we rounded the corner into Nursery A to find a turkey handprint letter from Jack made by our nurse that day, Anna Maria. 

This time last year we realized our family worked inside the walls of Winthrop’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. 

This year as we look back we can vividly remember the scary moments of Thanksgiving 2015 but the first thing we speak about is that hand drawn turkey. A simple act of tracing a hand to make us feel like ‘normal’ parents changed the landscape of our memories for our first Thanksgiving as a family of three. And for that we will always be thankful. 

To every staff member of Winthrop’s NICU – Thank you for treating every parent that walks through those doors with respect, compassion and most importantly and what might seem confusing to most– thank you for treating us as ‘normal’. It’s all any of us every wanted.  

To our family and friends- Thank you for being on this journey with us. It’s been a hell of a ride this past year but we never felt alone and always felt wrapped in love and support. For that we are eternally grateful. 

To our mighty Jack- Thank you for being ours. Thank you for reminding us daily that being ‘normal’ was never for us. Mighty for life! 

To NICU families spending their first Thanksgiving in the hospital- It’s certainly not how we envisioned our family’s first either but celebrate today. You all made it to this moment and it’s day to hold close the ones you love just a little tighter. Give thanks to that baby for fighting and whisper into the isolette all things you’ll do next Thanksgiving. And then wake up the day after Thanksgiving, head straight back to the hospital and whisper into your baby’s isolette all the things you’ll do next year’s day after Thanksgiving. And every day after that keep making plans for this time next year and soon enough you chipped away at the hardest mountain your family will climb and it’s your first Thanksgiving at home. 

We just looked back at our blog post from this time last year and the last lines ring just as true today and bear repeating…

To the little man that keeps us on our toes- Happy 4 weeks on this planet Mr. Jack!

As we head into Thanksgiving Bruce and I cannot help but take a step back and acknowledge how precious life is. Often times you don’t realize it until you lose someone you love or loved ones have fallen ill and time is running out. How lucky are we that we realize how precious it all is when a life is just beginning?

This season Bruce and I are thankful for a month with Jack. A month full of precious life just beginning.

From our family to yours — Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving.