Gavin's Gift

I have a few stories that I would like to share with you about how my sweet Gavin is allowing me to reach out to others. A week ago, I had a patient at work who had just had unexpected surgery the day before. He was doing really well, but was still on a breathing machine. His mom came in to visit and I encouraged her to provide the cares (take the temperature and change the diaper) for her sweet baby boy. She was apprehensive at first, but highly encouraged her to do it and told her that I would not leave the bedside until she was done in case she needed help. She agreed to do it and of course she did a great job. I mean who can care for their baby better than a loving mother? Once we were done the mother and I began talking. Although I had never taken care of her son, I have seen her a lot. Through our conversation she asked me if I had any children. I felt comfortable with her and told her that I did have a son who was born premature with multiple health problems and that he only lived for 11 days. I explained to her that he was in the NICU there at Cook's. She told me that she had overheard me talking in the first days that I came back to work and thought that maybe I had this experience. I explained to her that it was very important to me that she had the opportunity to care for her baby, because I learned through my experience that the "little" things matter. She agreed and was thankful that I encouraged her to do her sons cares. We talked about how hard it is to feel like a "mom" when your baby is in the NICU. It was so awesome how I was able tell my story and to be able to understand just how this mom feels and offer her genuine encouragement. I never want to forget my sweet Gavin and the things he taught me and this was my first opportunity to share with another mom my experience. I know that I can't share my story with every family but it's awesome that I can with some.

This week I was also given the opportunity to share my story about Gavin. A nurse practioner that I work with who didn't know about Gavin asked me if I had my baby or when I was due (now lets not talk about me thinking that I hope I still don't look that pregnant). I began to tell her that I already had Gavin and that he had been here at Cook's and he didn't make it. I was once again able to tell our story. She became teary eyed and asked me questions and we were both teary eyed by the end of the conversation, but it felt good. Once she was done rounding on my patient she came back up to me and told me that she was going to try not to cry, but that she wanted me to know what an amazing person I am and how great it is that I want and will be able to help other families who go through just what my family went through. I smiled and my heart was happy. You see I was able to share my faith in God and how I believe that God allowed us to go through this experience for a reason and that I believe part of the reason is so we can help others who go through the same thing. I pray that God will continue to use me and show me ways to use our experience for His glory.