August 6, 2009
At 12:14 this morning, three years ago, I cuddled my little baby boy for the first time. Tears streamed down my face, as I kissed his cheeks and spoke softly to him. It didn’t take much time. I was holding him by midnight and he was gone 14 minutes later. He took his last deep breath and that was it. It was serene and quiet.
“God needed Jonah. In time, we might heal and the days will become less painful, but I'll never forget the 2 1/2 weeks I spent with the strongest little boy I've ever met. He went peacefully in my arms just after midnight this morning. He went on his own without us making any decisions for him. I'll never forget Dr. Brian Eble's comforting words to us - "When it's Jonah's time, God will take him, regardless of the machines or the medication." And God did. He didn't put that burden on us. I held him for a short amount of time, until my grief overcame me and I asked Dr. Eble to take him. Dr. Eble whispered "It's okay. Jonah's gone now." We find comfort knowing that his suffering is over and that he is safe in the Lord's arms. This was not for us to understand but we were blessed to have Jonah in our lives - even if it was too short. We will never forget our beautiful baby boy.”
I was surprised at how quickly it all unfolded. One minute, we were laughing and enjoying the miracle that had happened…the next, we were kissing him goodbye. For all it’s worth, the DNR didn’t matter. Dr. Eble tried to help him, tried to save him and it didn’t work. He was leaving us, regardless. I felt like the family was robbed of saying goodbye to him but maybe that’s why we were given the day before. The good day. The calm before the storm. Everyone left that evening so happy and joyful for what had transpired that day. Jonah left everyone feeling happy that day. He showed us what miracles consisted of. His life didn’t turn out the way we would have chosen but each day of his life was a true miracle.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
August 5, 2009 - Jonah's 17th day
August 5, 2009
“Thank God for miracles, and thank you for all the prayers and support. Jason and I witnessed a wonderful miracle today as little Jonah was able to stabilize himself. Last night, things looked grim for our little man, as the doctors prepared us for the worst. However, nothing is too large for God and Jonah left the doctors amazed today. He still has a long road ahead of him and still needs all the prayers but he is fighting and so are we. God Bless everyone - we cannot thank you enough for all the prayers! Please continue to pray for Jonah each day!”
On this morning when I walked into Jonah’s room, I was astounded at Jonah’s numbers on the monitor above him. His blood pressure, heart rate and pulse ox were all higher than they had ever been. They were stable. We had agreed on minimum medication-type support for Jonah so I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. We had decided to keep him comfortable until he was called home. Dr. Bhutta, Dr. Dyamenahalli and Dr. Garcia surrounded Jonah’s bed. They had no explanation for me. “He’s stabilized himself.” were the only words murmured. There was no medical basis for what we were seeing. He left the doctors scratching their heads. He was still responding to me, holding my finger, moving his legs and he was alive. This day is also my father’s birthday. It wasn’t his best birthday, watching his grandson clinging to life. But my cousin brought a cake in and we celebrated it the best we could. For the next 8 hours, Jonah remained stable, on his own. He still was on a ventilator but everything else was on his own. Dr. Eble came in for his shift that evening, giving all thanks to God for Jonah still being there. Dr. Eble hugged us both with tears in his eyes, just as astonished as we were. At darkness crept in, my family said goodbye and did not stay to keep their vigil over us, for Jonah had stabilized and all was well in our world. We gave hugs at the elevator, proclaiming the miracle we had seen and they were gone.
Jason and I both went back to Jonah’s room to watch over him and be with him. We sat in there for over 2 hours watching as he remained stable, discussing it with Dr. Eble and Jonah’s nurse, Whitney, that evening. We were excited and cheerful as we kissed our little man goodnight and headed out to the waiting room for the night. We chatted and laughed with a few families out there as we prepared our beds. As we sunk into our make shift beds and began our nightly prayers, we had no idea that Jonah was preparing for his trip home.
“Thank God for miracles, and thank you for all the prayers and support. Jason and I witnessed a wonderful miracle today as little Jonah was able to stabilize himself. Last night, things looked grim for our little man, as the doctors prepared us for the worst. However, nothing is too large for God and Jonah left the doctors amazed today. He still has a long road ahead of him and still needs all the prayers but he is fighting and so are we. God Bless everyone - we cannot thank you enough for all the prayers! Please continue to pray for Jonah each day!”
On this morning when I walked into Jonah’s room, I was astounded at Jonah’s numbers on the monitor above him. His blood pressure, heart rate and pulse ox were all higher than they had ever been. They were stable. We had agreed on minimum medication-type support for Jonah so I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. We had decided to keep him comfortable until he was called home. Dr. Bhutta, Dr. Dyamenahalli and Dr. Garcia surrounded Jonah’s bed. They had no explanation for me. “He’s stabilized himself.” were the only words murmured. There was no medical basis for what we were seeing. He left the doctors scratching their heads. He was still responding to me, holding my finger, moving his legs and he was alive. This day is also my father’s birthday. It wasn’t his best birthday, watching his grandson clinging to life. But my cousin brought a cake in and we celebrated it the best we could. For the next 8 hours, Jonah remained stable, on his own. He still was on a ventilator but everything else was on his own. Dr. Eble came in for his shift that evening, giving all thanks to God for Jonah still being there. Dr. Eble hugged us both with tears in his eyes, just as astonished as we were. At darkness crept in, my family said goodbye and did not stay to keep their vigil over us, for Jonah had stabilized and all was well in our world. We gave hugs at the elevator, proclaiming the miracle we had seen and they were gone.
Jason and I both went back to Jonah’s room to watch over him and be with him. We sat in there for over 2 hours watching as he remained stable, discussing it with Dr. Eble and Jonah’s nurse, Whitney, that evening. We were excited and cheerful as we kissed our little man goodnight and headed out to the waiting room for the night. We chatted and laughed with a few families out there as we prepared our beds. As we sunk into our make shift beds and began our nightly prayers, we had no idea that Jonah was preparing for his trip home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)