Throw Back Thursday: Picture Comparison in Preparation for a Seminar

I have been invited to do a seminar at the end of the month for a group of high school students about what it’s like to have a baby in the NICU and a toddler with extra needs. I did a similar seminar last year and I was pretty excited that they asked me to come back again!

Many of the kids who have signed up for the seminar are on a career track to enter the medical field.

Anyone who has spent considerable time in the hospital can attest to the fact that many health care workers, unfortunately, forget how their everyday duties, actions, and words can directly impact a family’s life. (And of course, there are also many health care workers that set the bar very high for others practicing family-centered care.)

It is my hope that our story can have a lasting impact on these kids. I hope that hearing first-hand what it was like for a real family helps them become excellent health care workers. People who are willing to listen, and then read between the lines. People who can balance their duties with compassion and respect for the family; and who are aware of their body language as well as their words. People who are able to show empathy and give support to a family in need. People a family can trust with the life of their child.

I am grateful for this opportunity and I am looking forward to the presentation! (I’m a total weirdo and I love public speaking. 🙂 )

In preparation for the presentation, I’ve been digging though some old pictures. Wow. I am still shocked by pictures from Jax’s hospital stay.

micropreemie — A few days after birth. Jax had accidentally extubated himself, so they tried giving him oxygen through a nasal canula instead of intubating him again. He lasted 3 hours on the nasal canula and then had to be reintubated again because he was forgetting to breathe and he was not getting enough oxygen.

This was a few days after Jax came home from the hospital. He was 6lb 5oz and he was 3 months old. Notice the nasal cannula – that is the same size canula as the one in the previous picture. Looks a little different on this big boy, huh?

father and son — An now, he’s a big kid outside playing with his daddy! He loves to go on nature hikes in the woods behind our house. Yesterday, he brought his snow “shubel” and cleared our path. What a helpful boy. ❤

Author: Andrea M

Oh man, what an adventure! I went into labor unexpectedly when I was 23w3d pregnant. Jaxson was born weighing 1 lb 8 oz. A tiny little peanut, but boy was he feisty. He still is! We love it now, but we probably won't when he is a teenager. I write about our journey and all other things that come with it, including a brain tumor. We look forward to "meeting" you - come hang out with us...we're pretty cool. View all posts by Andrea M

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