I was lucky enough to get the call to
go to Minneapolis Children's Hospital last night.
I met an amazing family with twin girls
born on December 14th @ 23 weeks...pretty tiny.
One of the twins was just not strong enough.
They made the decision that at 7pm last night
she would be removed from life support.
Such a difficult scenario to witness to say at
the very least.
I was present before, during and after. That
little darling hung on for over an hour as if
to be certain that everyone would get the
chance to say good bye. so sweet, she was.
I met an amazing nurse there....her name is
Andrea. She was staying on well after her
shift to see this family through this
traumatic period as she has been their nurse
these past few weeks. I know I'll work with
her again someday. You were terrific Andrea!
Always smiling, always comforting.
Please take a moment to pray for this young
couple. Their other daughter remains at
Children's and is currently stable..doing well.
I have to confess that on my way down to
Children's I thought to myself that I should
maybe stop doing this. I'm not sure how
it is really effecting me...
But once I arrived and began to work with
the parents and discuss their wishes...
I realized that God has me in this position
for a reason and he has made me a strong servant.
For now, I will continue to serve as a NILMDTS
affiliate. I am grateful for the opportunity.
On to Gary....
The films show that Gary has a ruptured disc
between his C6 & C7.
We will travel to Arizona as planned and
return for some cortizone injections.
He's feeling better and his spirits are up.
I think he is really looking forward to a
change of venue...well, anything other that
the porch, really. :)
Dean & Lois, see you soon.
Scott & Jacquie, I will continue to pray for you
and Lucius...I'm so sorry.
As for those of you wanting to see some images
from New Year's Eve. I apologize to you all
for the delay. I'll be getting to them soon.
Enjoy the warm up!
2 comments:
Sue,
I don't know how you do it...but, God bless you for carrying on. Your presence with these NILMDTS families, I am sure, is a Godsend.
ox
Hi Sue, you're right -- you ARE strong enough to do such beautiful photos for these families. The positive effect it has on you, AND the family, AND the medical staff (who grieve too), AND the world in general... is far greater than any negative effect it may have on you.
About Gary: I used to work for a doctor who specialized in disc problems. The disc can heal on it's own in 6-12 months as long as whatever activity caused it to rupture is stopped. The disc is primarily made up of fluid, so in order to heal properly Gary needs to be WELL HYDRATED. The guideline is to drink half his body weight in ounces of fluids per day, e.g. if he weighs 200lbs he should drink 100oz a day. Water is best; tea/juice is OK; soda's not a great choice because of caffeine and calories but it does count; coffee/alcohol DO NOT count towards the daily total. Yes, it's a lot but they all get used to it eventually and they're happy when it works! He'll be peeing like crazy, so he should try to meet his goal several hours before bedtime. The cortisone shot either won't help or will last 1-2 months, but it's worth trying. NSAIDs like aspirin, Aleve, ibuprofen will help with short-term pain, and if taken DAILY for several weeks their anti-inflammatory effects will really kick in -- even just 1 or 2 a day. An ice pack will also help with both pain and inflammation. He can try heat if it feels good, but it may just inflame the area even more.
Good luck, and thanks for the great blog.
Love, another Susan Austin (in VA)
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