Friday, November 30, 2007

Still looking for those words of encouragement

Don't forget, the contest. I have changed the prize but will tell no one, it will be a surprise to the winner! Tell me about a certain person's words of encouragement that helped you through a trying time. We have 2 entries, look back at the November 21st comments.

I wanted also to post about a 12-year-old girl that my husband has been taking care of at the hospital. She had MRSA in her thigh and was very sick. She was not expected to make it, the parents had all but said their goodbyes. She made a complete turn around, is off the vent,they closed the wound on her thigh and is getting better every day. If you google MRSA you will see that most of us have this staph on our skin somewhere but why did hers turn out this way and most of ours hasn't? It has perplexed me enough that I have done some reading. She still has a long haul but she is going to make it!

2 comments:

Gina and the Gang said...

Like Andrea, I had a hard time thinking of one specific person that gives/gave me hope during the many difficult times my family has endured. I can look at that as a great thing, because to me that means that there are too many people to narrow it down to just one.:) But...after truly pondering for awhile, I can say that my hope comes from every person in the medical field. The cardiologists, and numerous other doctors that put their own lives on hold to make sure that my son's life remains gives me hope. The nurses that stay with us and tell stories of survival, when they really should be catching up on paperwork give me hope. Those certain students and residents that take a special interest in my child and his case give me hope. The surgeons who were gifted with steady hands, alert minds, and the willpower to endure days on end with no sleep, just to watch over my son give me hope. All of these people, and countless others are the reason why my son is alive. They may also be the people who one day find a "cure" for Congenital Heart Disease. Sometimes, when I am sitting by my son's hospital bedside, being asked the same questions for the HUNDRETH time that day, just to educate curious, young medical minds, I try to remember that one of these people may one day be the doctor that finds a way to end this needless suffering that so many of our children endure. To me, anyone walking the hospital floors in a white coat or scrubs, gives me hope.
Gina

Maria said...

hola! i posted this on 11/21 and i thought i better REPOST IT HERE!!
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hi valerie,
my name is maria and in my beautiful family, my little guy MATTHEW was born with TAPVR (heart defect)...they didn't think he would survive that first day. he had his OH surgery at 8 hours old and was placed on ECMO for his first 5 days...when they took him off to die, what encouraging words could anyone give me? well, my encourengment came within....i remembered a saying that was told to me when i was in college and that was "LET GO AND LET GOD"...back then, i did not truly understand that strong saying but that day, i finally understood and ACCEPTED IT...i let go and LET GOD and told HIM that whatever would happen, i would ACCEPT IT and still LOVE HIM...but i hoped he would keep my child with me still, for a miracle. and HE DID!! and as our journey continued with all the other complications that came with his birth to this day, i follow that saying and i also have another one and that is "GOD WILL ONLY GIVE YOU AS MUCH AS YOU CAN HANDLE"...and today, with my husband deployed to IRAQ for a year, and my newest addition to the family, and me being a "single mom" now for the year, i again, look back at BOTH sayings and take encouragment from the both in knowing that GOD is with me and is ALWAYS BY MY SIDE!!!