NICU Shut Downs

We had a few struggles Sunday getting in to see Levins. Granddaddy and I went in the morning to be there when the doctors did their rounds. It's nice having someone else ask the medical questions. He knows the lingo and will tell me straight what is going on. The NICU team watches over Levins really well. He just makes me feel at ease explaining everything. We stayed until we were told a new baby was coming into our wing, which was about time for Cullie and Mimi to get there anyway.

The NICU ended up being closed for several hours. It was tough because I knew how bad Cullie wanted to get in there and see Levins. At first I was frustrated too, but then I started to think about the other baby. I knew something serious must be going on for them to shut the wing down for that long. All I could think about was how bad of a day those parents were having. It puts everything in perspective. We are very lucky. I know some people ask,  "how could you say that?" but we are. Levins needs to grow and we hope everything can be repaired. There are parents that are scared their baby won't make it through its first couple of hours of life. This whole situation we are in has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I panic now if I see a bed moved around in the unit. I always wonder where that baby was moved to or always think the worst. Every time I hear an alarm go off in another room, I panic. That is someone else's Levins. That is their life over there. Needless to say I now panic for all the babies in there.

The unit we are in is amazing. The nurses, nurse practitioners, and doctors are phenomenal. I honestly do not know how they do it everyday. I do know that every baby in there is loved. They told us early on that they cared for each baby like it was their own. At first I didn't believe that, but I was wrong. It's a family. I have seen tears, laughter, and fear in the eyes of these wonderful people. They want every baby to be home with their parents. I will never question them again. I will have friendships with several members of Levins' care team for a long time. They are all people too, very special people.

I have grown very close with one person in the unit. I'll refer to him as T. He reminds me a lot of Granddaddy. He saved Levins when she was blue. I can never thank him enough. I look forward to seeing him everyday. Levins is not in his unit, but I know he is watching over her. He will never know how much that means to me. I think he knows more about our lives in 6 days time than most people do in years. I ask that anyone reading this prays for all the families, babies, and staff in the NICU. Every time the NICU wing closes I think of another Daddy having the worst day of his life. I want to tell him it will get better and his child is in the best hands in the world.