Although the world is full of suffering,
it is also full of the overcoming of it.
Helen Keller
When you are right in the midst of suffering and feeling intense pain, it may be difficult to believe that you will ever get beyond the suffering. For NICU Parents these moments can be overwhelming, disheartening and heart-breaking.
Seeing the Other Side
One way of helping to get through the suffering phase is to find someone who has made it through and seen the other side of the suffering and talk to them, to get a glimpse of the future.
Other NICU parents, the NICU nurses and Physicians who have been there and seen positive outcomes from the NICU can help provide valuable perspective whether it is a baby being eventually discharged to home, or if it is helping a family create memories and spend the last precious moments with their dying baby.
If you NICU is lucky enough to have a NICU Parent Pathfinder or someone designated to help get NICU parents oriented, be sure to use their resources.
Photo Source: Robbie Ribeiro. Nature's Force. Royalty Free Use.
Seeing the Other Side
One way of helping to get through the suffering phase is to find someone who has made it through and seen the other side of the suffering and talk to them, to get a glimpse of the future.
Other NICU parents, the NICU nurses and Physicians who have been there and seen positive outcomes from the NICU can help provide valuable perspective whether it is a baby being eventually discharged to home, or if it is helping a family create memories and spend the last precious moments with their dying baby.
If you NICU is lucky enough to have a NICU Parent Pathfinder or someone designated to help get NICU parents oriented, be sure to use their resources.
Photo Source: Robbie Ribeiro. Nature's Force. Royalty Free Use.
1 comment:
Hello Comfort Doc,
Saw you on Neonatal Doc and now on the Mom Blogs--what an amazing resource site you have, I wish I had this when my son was in the NICU!
I will certainly share it with my local NICU (I'm now a cuddler there--can't stay away from those amazing folks!), so that they can share it with current NICU parents and families.
My son had a brief stay compared to so many, his story is here if you are interested:
http://hankandwillie.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/part-1-in-which-we-get-a-new-sandbox-and-have-a-baby/
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