1 year later at Kosair

Several months after Clif and I spent 2 weeks at Kosair Children's Hospital for our 3 month old daughters heart surgery, we knew we wanted to go back.  The PICU of a children's hospital is like this "other" world that you don't know exists.  At least we didn't.

There are children who have crazy medical problems.  Our daughter had a congenital heart defect, there are children with brain tumors, throat tumors, babies who have never been home and have only known the hospital since they were delivered, children with life long ailments who spend months at a time there, children who have encountered terrible accidents.

And their parents.

Parents who are exhausted, scared, grieving things they don't even know about, parents who are living on the adreneline that comes when your child needs you so intensely, parents whose children have needed them so intensely for so long that the adreneline wore off a while ago.  There are angry parents, praying parents, hopeful parents, absent parents, united parents, divided parents...

And there are machines.  More machines and wires and life saving equipment than the average joe could ever dream up.  And medications that work all sorts of magic.  And nurses who know what each wire goes to and how to respond when things change or need adjustment.  There are doctors and surgeons who are used to working miracles in the lives of these children and families.  The specific skills and gifts they all have have been honed and developed... it's just amazing.  Really breathtaking.  As a person who tries to treat things pretty naturally and avoid medication as much as I can, I remember just being in awe and thinking, "Now THIS is what medicine is made for!!!"

And so yesterday, we went back.  We brought friends, some nourishment to share, a little light to shine around. And it was a good thing.  Throughout this year, I have found it difficult to find words about our experience with Laurel and what it was like and what happened in us as we walked through it... and yesterday was no different.

God in your mercy, would you just keep showing up there, for them.