I'm usually pretty decent with my words, but tonight I'm struggling coming up with anything that is remotely adequate to express my feelings...feelings of gratitude, overwhelming relief, and appreciation. In the past month, I've met strangers who have completely changed my life. I have become close with people I've never met and never intended on meeting. I've learned so much from all of you.
Thank you...
- Dr. Trylovich - for seeing that my baby needed saving, for saving her, for calming me in a crazy storm, for knowing exactly what you needed to know even though you had never met me
- To the hospital staff at Plano Presby, for your patience with my daily calls, questions, need for help, you were all so polite and helpful.
- For milk donors who so generously gave to the hospital NICU for my girl so she could eat until my milk came in
- For those who saved my baby and took care of her more than I could...I had no idea how much nurses do and now have a deep connection and appreciation for all of you
- Shelby - for immediately coming to my side and encouraging me. For telling me my baby would be so much better soon. For taking care of her in the early days, calling her "sister." You were the person who told me I could hold her for the first time and comforted me when I had tears streaming down my face.
- Faye - for teaching Jason and I the three "P's" that were necessary to overcome our journey...prayer, positivity, and perseverance. You live by that motto, and even though you broke the freezer door the night you gave us the NICU tour, you laughed, stayed positive, and persevered through teaching us the basics of taking care of our fragile baby.
- Kim - for keeping us smirking with your sense of humor. You can really tell that you love your job and your babies. I will always refer to my purple shirts as eggplant because of you, and I will always remember you joking about your babies trying to play oxygen roulette to see which one was the favorite. By the way, you were ours.
- Anne - for nicknaming Madi "Boo Boo Poo Poo" and being so gentle with her and me. I imagine your kiddos and grandkiddos are very lucky to have you.
- Nancy - for showing me how to kangaroo my baby for the first time and being patient with me. I appreciated your direct approach and no nonsense way of communicating.
- Olga, Ally, Annabel - for caring for Madi during the night when I was unable to. For dressing her in the cutest outfits and creating such sweet keepsakes for us to take home.
- Lolita - for telling me my baby was "stable" for the first time and letting me know she wasn't a "sick baby." For saying she was feisty and would be stronger than I expected.
- Neitra - for being so helpful toward the end and really showing us tips and tricks of burping Madi, how to transition her, what to do when she choked and turned blue on me, and amazingly not panicking through any of the chaos.
- Kayla - for teaching us how to mix in her additional calories into her milk, how to give her vitamins, and sharing your stories of your two kiddos at home.
- Paula - for helping us bathe Madi for the first time and for all your tips and tricks as well on burping, feeding, and our transition home.
- Jiyoun - I can't really express my gratefulness for you completely with words. You were with Madi when she completed all of her bottles for the first time. You were there the last day when I was scared that she couldn't take the bottle right before we walked out. You checked on us when we roomed in. You cared for her the way you would care for your children and you explained your deep connection to your babies. Thank you for sharing your journey through your chemo treatments and your brain tumor journey. You changed us, and we are lucky to have had you care for our daughter, all the way to walking us to our car. I pray your remaining chemo treatments go well.
Because of all of you, my Madi Grace is not only alive, she has now learned how to breathe, maintain her temperature, and eat on her own. THANK YOU. Because of you, she is now HOME at 35 weeks gestation. Because of you, our lives are forever changed, and we have a new sense of gratitude and awareness for everything you do, daily, for simple strangers like us. We will never forget you.
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