Dear New NICU
Parent,
Congratulations
on your perfect, little miracle(s)! I
celebrate with you over the gift of life that you are entrusted with! What a journey you are about to embark on,
what a journey you are already enduring.
![]() |
Baby Beckett |
For whatever
brought you here, you are here. No
matter the duration of your stay, simply being admitted feels too long. A place no one wants to be, a club no one aspires
to join. It is interesting, though, most
“members” grow to not only accept this new club but welcome and rely on this
new-found community that embraces them. Among
the doctors, NNPs, specialists, nurses, RTs, OTs, social workers, and even the
other families you share soap with at the scrub-in sink there is a unique bond,
a connection, a feeling of being understood when life is unimaginable for “nonmembers”.
While no two
journeys are the same – I know I can’t completely relate to your individual
story – I empathize with your pain, your heartache, and the “simple” things
worth celebrating. Like you, I have impatiently
waited for test results in hopes to shed light on questions, circled the
parking ramp antsy to get back up to fourth floor, and been forced to become
fluent in a language I never knew. I,
too, have celebrated poop, food consumed by the mLs, grams gained, and every
breath taken. And as much as my family’s
journey is no longer in the NICU, I am forever marked so I think of you and
pray for you.
This unit
leaves a scar – a mark left by a healed
wound. So much depends on how and when
that wound heals and how I view this scar.
![]() |
First Family Picture (Beckett - 3mo) |
In the
rollercoaster ride that is the NICU journey, I have found my only true healing comes
from the Lord. Without Him, I do not
know where I would be. The heartache
that comes with the fragility of a child’s life is incomparable – a depth of
pain and grief only the Lord truly understands; only He can comfort the deepest
parts of my pain. I fight against the
lie that sounds so esteemed: God won’t give me more than I can handle. So much is flawed with that sentiment. I am tempted to want to believe I am strong enough, but the truth is, I
am not.

A fellow
NICU family,
Amy (and my
boys: Brandon, Brody, & Beckett)
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