A year ago...

One year ago, on February 1 2009, I was sitting in an intensive care unit, sick with fear and worry. It was a parent's worst nightmare, and it was real to us: my month-old baby had stopped breathing. She had a severe case of RSV (presumably passed to her by her big sister) and spent seven very long days and nights on a respirator. I spent that time crying and pleading with God, isolated from the rest of the world, and most importantly, the rest of my family (oh, how I missed them!).

It was a whole different world in there. We had to wear sterile yellow hospital scrubs, pink latex-free gloves, and itchy blue surgical masks just to be within breathing distance of her ICU room. I pumped "liquid gold" breastmilk for ten days, and hated every minute of it. It was all so cold and clinical and impersonal. The PICU was a place where young children died. Mike couldn't stand to be there for too long at a time - he sees so much trauma and death in his job as a paramedic, and this hit him far, far too close to home.

Many, many prayers were heard and answered that week. And miraculously, she lived through it, by the grace of God (how appropriate, that her middle name is Grace). Finally, ten days after her heart and breathing stopped in the ER triage room, she was released to come home.

Now, our little miracle baby is 13 months old and could not be healthier.
I am so thankful that God has given us two precious daughters to care for and love.