Thinkin' About Life

Last night I ended out 2009 working in the ER. New Year's Eve is typically crazy, but this was out of control. We walked in to an empty ER, only 4 patients....pretty quiet. But after 1/2 hour it got CRAZY!!! It started with a 17 year old gunshot wound. Followed by a non English speaking woman telling me "My baby is coming" (turned out to be in 6 months but still necessitated a lot of work!). Then a 51 year old gunshot wound to the chest. Then a near anaphylaxtic allergic reaction. And of course, a bunch of nausea vomiting and chest pain too.

The around 9:5opm, a man came to the window telling me that his daughter was in the car bleeding and she needed help. I went out to the car with a wheelchair and this very large (300+ lb) woman was screaming in pain. She said her lower abdomen hurt really bad and that when she went to the bathroom she started bleeding. She denied being pregnant. I asked when her last period was and she said December, but just by looking at her I knew she was in labor. We got her back to a room....insert a lot of gory details here....and there she delivered the tiniest little baby girl. We thought she was stillborn. She was probably about 7-8 inches long and weighed less than 2 lbs. She wasn't moving, wasn't breathing, and was blue. I brought her in a basin over to the sink and then I noticed she was starting to breathe on her own. Her chest was rising and she was moving and she was trying to cry. All I could think of was this:


And then this:

You see, this is my nephew Christian. In June 2004 he was born at 23.5 weeks gestation and weighed 1 lb 9 oz. No one thought he would live. He came so close to death so many times. We call him our miracle boy. Christian fought to stay on this earth. God wanted Christian on this earth. He is so sweet and so kind and just a joy to all who know him. And I knew that if this baby girl was fighting this hard, we had to give her a chance. I told the doctor "We have to do something". He agreed and we started reviving the baby. Now I had no earthly idea what I was doing, but I did it. Along with some other very awesome nurses and a great doctor. And one hour after her unannounced arrival into this world, that stillborn baby left our hospital to be transported to a NICU. And she was alive.

I don't know what God has in store for this little girl. She may not live beyond tomorrow. But tonight I heard that her lab work is normal and she is weaning off the ventilator. She is estimated to be 24 weeks gestation but the size of a 19-20 week gestation fetus. But I do know He wanted her to see 2010. And she did.

I have seen a lot of death in my 15 years of nursing. And I've also seen a lot of vegetative life. Most of the time, I would wish for death because I would so much rather be in heaven than a vegetative state stuck in an earthly body. But tonight I am thinking about life. And a new life that began with the new year. And I am praying for that sweet baby girl. May God protect you however He sees fit.