We were always one of the lucky ones. Luke and Claire only had breathing issues or needed testing. Patrick and I were not the parents holding sick kids who had to endure ceaseless treatments to battle diseases. After each of our hospital stays, we were the fortunate ones leaving with our kids in our arms.
I am not saying this to minimize our experience, because each hospitalization had a profound impact on our lives - each in its own way. What I am saying is that there are countless parents out there holding their sweet babies right now, crying silently in hospital rooms, wondering why their child has to be sick, and doubting that anyone outside of their immediate family, friends, and doctors even cares what they are enduring.
Each and every day of my life, I stop and think about all the parents sitting in hospital rooms, staring at monitors, praying for different test results. I think of all the poor kids who do not have parents sitting there to hold them as they endure test after test. During our time in NICU, the most shocking conversation I had with the nurses was regarding the high number of parents who do not even visit their children. I just don't understand.
It isn't much. However, the one tangible thing I knew I could provide was a hair donation for kids who had lost theirs due to treatment. It had been on my bucket list for years, and today - ironically on National Rare Disease Day - I finally had enough to make the donation. It is one small thing to let a struggling parent know that while they are sitting there in that dark hospital room, there are others out there thinking of them and their children.
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