Journal entry by Rose Meier —
It has been 24 hours since we were discharged from this hospital and the dust is beginning to settle. Devon, Sage and I are so grateful to be home.
Originally our amazing nurse, Bob, told us they see this a few times a week. He meant they see kids admitted and put on oxygen a few times a week. As we were preparing to be discharged he told us that they have only intubated three kids in the past five years. It’s clear to me now that Sage almost died. The nurses did a stupendous job helping us to stay strong and hopeful while in the hospital.
The patient in the adjoining room at the hospital was a 16 year old girl who was brain dead upon being admitted to the hospital. I will forever be haunted by the sound of her mother’s wail when she found out. The girl was kept on life support for days while family came to say goodbye. They made the courageous decision to donate her organs to help prevent other families from knowing the pain of loosing a child.
Now that we’re home, the residual effects of the trauma are being felt. Devon and I both had nightmares all night. Tears are never far from the surface. It will take some time to recover completely.
Thankfully, Sage seems to be recovering more quickly than his parents. He slept extremely well last night and he is clearly happy to be back in his home. The medically induced coma seems to have had no effect on his physical or cognitive development. He is once again able to pull himself up and cruise around. He still remembers the sign for “book” which he learned the day before being intubated. He’s just a little guy with a cold, a terrible case of diaper rash and a fear of strangers dressed in medical attire.
I am so grateful for all the well wishes, thoughts, prayers, help with laundry, dog sitting, meals and encouraging texts. We are incredibly fortunate to have an amazing community of people who love us.
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Spend time today being present with the people you love knowing that all we ever really have is the present moment.
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