My child is light years away from the most serious and life-threatening cases that Children’s Hospital employees and volunteers see on a daily basis, but as a mom I have gotten a taste of the panic and fear that comes with finding out something is wrong with your child. It’s especially frightening to not know exactly what that something is.
It’s been a long ten months for Clark. He’s had test after test, and his medical record includes a whopping 27 blood tests, 3 echocardiograms, 2 hospital stays, and 2 renal ultrasounds so far, and the stress has been astronomical on him and our family. We still don’t know what’s wrong, and we may never know what’s wrong, but we do know that the people at the Children’s Hospital are some of the most empathetic, caring, and compassionate people on the planet.
For the last ten months, they have gone above and beyond to show us that they care and want to help my son in the best way that they possibly can. Whether that means humming silly songs during blood pressure checks, turning on Frozen during an ultrasound, checking on us all through the night at the hospital, giving him a Pluto stuffed animal to brighten his stay, or any of the other countless acts of kindness that they perform on a daily basis. The people at Children’s Hospital are in a league all on their own.
The day of his CT scan, Clark didn’t notice much of anything happened. He sat in a waiting room with mom and dad, and then he went back with the nurse to take a nice nap under general anesthesia during the process. I think we were more stressed and worried than he was. The receptionist kept us busy with a steady stream of friendly conversation about the impending snowstorm and how nice snow days were, and before we knew it they were calling us back to meet up with Clark in recovery.
The nurse in recovery was calm, reassuring, and helpful. She even found us a cup to put in the sink so we could warm up a bottle in hot water for our groggy baby. They always think of ways to make their patients and their patients’ families as comfortable as possible.
On the way out, the receptionist stopped us and told us that her favorite part of her job was matching up a toy or blanket with each child that comes through her area of the hospital. She said she thought that she had a blanket that fit Clark’s personality that had been made by a volunteer. It was a lovingly made quilt in teal and animal prints with forests and deserts, and I was very pleased to see that she had signed her name in the corner. Her name is Rosie Smith.
Though Clark won’t remember having that quilt wrapped around him, I will. I will always look back on this time in our lives and be grateful for the love, care, and attention everyone at the Children’s Hospital has shown us. So thanks, Rosie Smith. Thank you so much to you and to everyone else who spends their days taking care of the children and families that have to walk through those hospital doors all too frequently. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there for my son and my family as we continue this journey through the unknown.
