Project Sweet Peas / Sabrina McNeil (mom)
A Parent’s Tunnel
By: Kate Crawford
Shut your eyes
Now imagine the happiest moment of your life
You are about to meet your baby
A baby you have waited for
For 9 long months
A baby you planned your future around
Everything is perfect
And here he comes
You cry
You are elated
But wait . . . the baby . . .
The baby isn’t crying
The nurses are running
You ask quietly
“What’s wrong?”
No one answers you
You can’t see your baby
There are too many people
The whisk your baby out of the room
You scream
“What is wrong with my baby?”
Finally an answer
One you are unprepared for
“We have to take your baby to the NICU.”
You stop listening
You can’t breathe
You can’t think
You cry but it’s no longer because you are happy
You haven’t seen the sun
The dark room is all you know
The days run together
You are tired
But you can’t sleep because you can’t leave your baby’s side
You are alone
Isolated
You haven’t even eaten
You forget
You can’t leave
You haven’t showered
But you don’t care
He’s hooked to wires tubes IV’s and catheters
Everything beeps in alarms
Every beep makes your heart stop
Your baby is sick
Your perfect is gone
Your future shattered
You sit
You stare
You watch your baby fight to stay alive
The nurses come
The nurses go
The names change
You can’t keep it straight
The diagnosis
You can’t even pronounce
Medicines you’ve never heard of
But the knowledge makes you feel bonded to your baby
You know nothing of the outside world
Your baby is all you know
Your strength
You don’t care about anything
But your baby
This is the life of a parent in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They have tunnel vision and at the end is a healthy baby with a happily ever after. Sometimes they reach the end of that tunnel with their baby sometimes they never see their happy ever after.
Please help us reach out to these families by providing them with care packages. We want to let them know they are not alone and we are there to help and let them know they are not alone.
Project Sweet Peas - Providing Support for Families in intensive care units
Helping families who have a child in the intensive care unit by providing care packages that offer a touch of comfort while building cherished memories.
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