I See You.

I ran across this blog post on facebook about a month ago. I think it was posted on the UW NICU facebook page..And I was intrigued by the title. "I See You."

The words of this NICU nurse were beautiful. Each sentence blew me away and I cry EVERY Single time I read it. Ahh...this just takes me back to the realities of Jack's first three weeks of life in the NICU. And it leaves me thankful that it was only three weeks as so many babies are there for so much longer.

To all those parents who have had preemies and to all those NICU nurses. Know that we see you. We see your compassion. We see your love for us and for our babies. We see your face of understanding. And we thank you!

This is simply too beautiful not to share. Some of my favorite bits are below - but I would encourage you to check out the post in it's entirety.

"I know I don't understand, and I will never understand completely what it is like to be you. Nor, do I pretend to understand what you are going through. But I do want you to know that I get it. I get that having a child prematurely or spending time in the NICU is not what you had planned and it is extremely hard watching your child suffer, feeling so helpless and full of fear. Having a medically fragile child is difficult and you may feel alone, isolated, or invisible. But today, I want you to know that you are not alone. You are not invisible, and that I see you.

I see you rushing into the NICU with your hair pulled back and your sweats on. Bending over at the sink scrubbing your hands with intent, hoping and praying that you made it in time for the 8am feeding. You are beautiful.

I see you as your family and friends visit your child who has now been in the NICU for weeks on end. They ask questions, the wonder, and they sometimes make uninformed or even hurtful comments. They may fail to recognize that this journey is long and hard, not just for your baby, but for you too. You don't get upset. You answer their questions politely, and educate them as best you can, and then you thank them for their concerns. You are amazing.

I see you as you perform diaper changes through all the wires, tubes, and machines. You look beyond all this medical machinery and smile in admiration for your little fighter. You have been through so much, you have seen so much, and you have loved so deeply and abundantly through it all. You are courageous."