It’s #nicuawarenessmonth and these photos are exactly (give or take a day) 4 years apart. 4 years ago I got to look at my babies through an incubator.
I watched in horror as Olivia extubated herself and stopped breathing, we watched as her chest froze from the fentanyl she was given for her heart surgery; we watched from outside both of their windows as miracle doctors and nurses performed these heart surgeries on both of them, worried that their tiny bodies couldn’t take it. They did, and they have warrior scars to show for it – strength, resilience, and beauty.
Four long years… Today our beautiful girls are in preschool, set to graduate high school at 17. They are wowing their teachers with their knowledge and skills beyond their age, let alone being so premature. It’s been a long four years of discovery and learning, with challenges we have yet to overcome. It’s a whole world that people will never understand, and I am grateful that they don’t.
The trauma and PTSD after is real and barely spoken about…years. It sticks with you for years. If you know anyone going through this battle, embrace them and offer to listen. Send them coffee or a meal, because they are more than likely living on next to nothing to be with their little ones. Offer to help with a little one at home that they may have…or just offer to listen. It’s so lonely and isolating, and support often just disappears because they don’t know how to react. That’s how – just listen. Empathy.
If you, or someone you know, needs or wants support, please follow my Facebook Group at the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/parentsofpreemiessupport/
Sunshine and Lightning Bolts 