My Dearest Love Norah,
On November 21st of last year, exactly one year ago, you died for nine minutes. Your heart stopped beating. You weren't breathing. The staff at South Davis participated in a miracle: they helped bring you back. But I'm pretty sure our family gets a good portion of that credit, too. You are the toughest and bravest girl I know. And I like to believe that you knew that your family was unwilling to give up on you. Even at just under 4-months old, you must have known that your family had been there with you every day, fighting that fight alongside you.
I've had multiple conversations with various health care workers, who have said similar things about CPR. Many of them say that there is something intangible that tells them when it's time to stop CPR, and when to keep going. Everyone in that room must have known to keep going. Nine minutes is a VERY long time to be administering CPR. People are always astounded to find out that you were gone that long, yet didn't seem to suffer any long-term damage. The sound of the charge nurse's (Lorey's) exuberant "YES!" when she heard your heart beating again, will forever be etched in my heart.
It doesn't need to be said that November 21st is a date that I will always remember. We call it your Miracle Birthday, and we plan to celebrate it every year. Today we brought cookies for the staff at South Davis, and a fun developmental toy, a play tea set, for you. For the first time that I've seen, you sat up all on your own for several streaks of solid time to play with it, though they were very wobbly streaks of solid time. We're all determined that we'll be celebrating your second Miracle Birthday at home... But perhaps we'll make the rounds to both PCMC and SDCH to remind them of what good work they do.
It has been an amazing year, my sweet girl. You are the light in our lives. Your are the sweetest, most adoring baby sister, and the cuddliest, smartest, most loving and beautiful daughter. We are so thankful for this last year with you. How fitting that this year, it falls on the day before Thanksgiving.
We love you so much,
Mama, Dada, and Harper
On November 21st of last year, exactly one year ago, you died for nine minutes. Your heart stopped beating. You weren't breathing. The staff at South Davis participated in a miracle: they helped bring you back. But I'm pretty sure our family gets a good portion of that credit, too. You are the toughest and bravest girl I know. And I like to believe that you knew that your family was unwilling to give up on you. Even at just under 4-months old, you must have known that your family had been there with you every day, fighting that fight alongside you.
I've had multiple conversations with various health care workers, who have said similar things about CPR. Many of them say that there is something intangible that tells them when it's time to stop CPR, and when to keep going. Everyone in that room must have known to keep going. Nine minutes is a VERY long time to be administering CPR. People are always astounded to find out that you were gone that long, yet didn't seem to suffer any long-term damage. The sound of the charge nurse's (Lorey's) exuberant "YES!" when she heard your heart beating again, will forever be etched in my heart.
It doesn't need to be said that November 21st is a date that I will always remember. We call it your Miracle Birthday, and we plan to celebrate it every year. Today we brought cookies for the staff at South Davis, and a fun developmental toy, a play tea set, for you. For the first time that I've seen, you sat up all on your own for several streaks of solid time to play with it, though they were very wobbly streaks of solid time. We're all determined that we'll be celebrating your second Miracle Birthday at home... But perhaps we'll make the rounds to both PCMC and SDCH to remind them of what good work they do.
It has been an amazing year, my sweet girl. You are the light in our lives. Your are the sweetest, most adoring baby sister, and the cuddliest, smartest, most loving and beautiful daughter. We are so thankful for this last year with you. How fitting that this year, it falls on the day before Thanksgiving.
We love you so much,
Mama, Dada, and Harper
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| Literally minutes before you coded last year: as happy as could be. |
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| Right after we rushed back to PCMC's PICU. You slept for a few solid days. |
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| The first smile post-arrest. You gradually showed signs of your old self again, and we knew that you were going to be just fine. |
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| What a difference a year makes. This photo was taken a couple of days ago. Harper gave you a "huggle" while you watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together. You were playing with his hair while he shared your crib... which he LOVES to do. |
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| Checking out your Miracle Bday present. You love your new tea set... and so does Harper! |
This gives me chills and tears. As bad as Aaron's been, he's never coded and I live in fear of that day. Such a wonderful "birthday", such a great miracle. And here's hoping along with you that her second "birthday" is spent at home getting into things there! Love you!
ReplyDeleteMedics can be AMAZING and they are unsung heroes all too often. It's a wonderful "birthday" to celebrate when it could have been oh so different without the team that helped Norah that day. xx
ReplyDelete