Day 6

Today, I stepped outside the hospital doors for the first time (since brining Abi to her pediatrician’s appointment 6 days ago. ) For days, Sean has been saying, “You have to get out.  For your sanity, go walk outside!” But I never did… until today. This morning, I woke up with Abi at about 4:45am, by 6 am, we had met with the doctor, by 7am I was showered and feeding Abi breakfast, and at 7:15 I said, “Okay.  I’m ready. How about I go to Target?”  So Sean, cheered me on, I grabbed my wallet, kissed my baby, and headed out the door. I took my first breath of fresh air in 6 days at 8:30 am.  It was colder than I expected.  Woohoo, Fall is upon us!

Target was good and when I returned, all was well and I was glad I had gone… however… I got a taste of freedom and now I CRAVE it.  I want to leave again… but WITH ABI! (Although we remain SO THANKFUL for the assistance and health care we are receiving… we are ready to live life without 18 cables attached to our baby, the incessant beeping of a heart monitor, and the constant intake of people looking at (scaring) Miss Abiella.

But before, we leave (hopefully on Tuesday) I must share with you a few random miracles that have happened (among many) since we’ve been here. 

First- one of our nurses came in and said, “I had to come meet you.  I lived in Ghana for 2 years!”  Huh?!?  Really?!? Turned out, at the age of 16 she moved to Ghana as an exchange student, lived in a home without running water, went to public high school there, and fell so in love with the culture that she stayed an extra year.  Throughout our stay here, she has come in to our room periodically and we’ve shared stories of our beloved daughter’s birth place.  So amazing.

Second- One of our night nurse’s whom we love so much noticed we were awake in the middle of the night and leaned over to us and with a shaky voice said, “There’s such a difference in this baby already.  I’m weeping. What a miracle!”  So reassuring to see that someone else saw such a difference too!

Lastly, (are you ready for this?)  We had a different nurse come in yesterday and from the second I met her I loved her.  She was kind, fun, hilarious, and around my age.  I noticed right off the bat she was exceptionally good with Abiella.  Near the end of her shift, she came in and said, “Is Abi going to be going home with the feeding tube?”  I said, “Yes, I believe so.”  She replied, “Would you like me to start teaching you how to use it?” I quickly agreed and she told me she’d come in that evening and show me a few of the basics. So an hour or so later, she returned and as I watched what she was doing, she looked up at us and said, “I adopted a child with special needs who had to go home on a feeding tube…so I know how you’re feeling. It’ll get easier.”  Oh my gosh.  My jaw hit the floor. 

“What?!?  You did?"  She proceeded to tell me a story that was similar to ours… (adoption first, biological kids later…etc. etc.) Main difference? They adopted 3 siblings at once!  The child with special needs was suffering from seizures, vomiting, lack of mobility, and considered blind and deaf.  As she told me her story I felt as if God had sent me an angel straight into my room.  She looked over at Abi and said, “She’ll do great.  You have no idea. We were told our son would only be able to suck his thumb.  Two years later (age 4) he can roll over, see, hear, say Mama, laugh, his seizures are gone and his vomiting has ceased.”  Her attitude, her light, her joy, and her knowledge were such gifts.  She had been in our shoes… I told her, “You’re an angel! I just told Sean how we needed to meet some parents in our same position… (adopting a child with special needs) and little did I know God had already sent me someone. The very woman treating our precious daughter all day!”  Unbelievable.  She told me she wasn’t even supposed to take that shift and that she had never even worked on our floor.  Unbelievable!!!  She’s our nurse again today and I’m learning so much, gaining so much strength from her unbelievable outlook, and basking in the joy of sharing a similar experience.  Do we know if our children will ever communicate fully? No. Do we know if our children will ever walk? No. But we cheer at the victories we see.  The way she put it, “Everyone says, ‘You’re crazy. What if he can’t do this? Or he can’t do that?' And I always see the opposite, Look at what HE CAN DO! Look at what we didn’t know was possible… becoming possible!”  Such a light.  Such a gift. And such a needed blessing when our spirits were tired, jet lag was rumbling, and hospital air was stiff and stifling. What a reminder that God loves US.  Not just Abi.  But US.  When we needed a boost, he sent one before we even knew how to ask. 

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mae mae