Leaving a wonderful place

I feel like I am leaving my second home today. I've been here over 6 weeks and have become quite attached. I have been blessed with amazing care at this hospital. The hospital bed rest could have been a lot worse but it wasn't because of the kindness of the wonderful nurses on the antepartum floor.

Justin and I have been discussing how we would love to figure out how to do something for the antepatrum floor here. It's crazy because the postpartum floor where moms stay for 2-3 days after delivery have been totally redone and are big and wonderful. But the antepartum floor where moms stays for weeks and months on end is old and needs to be modernized. The rooms are small and, I have to say, not that pleasant. It's not a warm place and it should be because moms sometimes travel long distances to be here and often don't have any family or visitors throughout their stay. So it leaves a lot of pressure on the nurses to fill the void many moms are feeling while here.

With the incredible help of the doctors and nurses, most of the outcomes on the floor are good but others are not. It is a place of joy and sorrow and hope all at the same time. It is such a vital place and it is a shame that not many people know about it. It's made up of women who are fighting with every drop in them to save their babies lives. Many can't get out of bed at all. Some are constantly hooked up to monitors knowing that at any minute they could deliver. It's moms who value their babies' lives so much that they are willing to give up their own lives in order to give their babies a shot at a better, healthier life. Moms who are torn because they've often left older children at home while they are here. I have heard many incredible stories here of hopeless situations turning out ok and of women who, like me, were told to terminate but instead chose a different, more difficult path. The things these mothers go through for their children is unbelievable and yet their sacrifice mostly goes unnoticed except for by their families. That's why I hope one day I can somehow do something for this amazing place. I feel I owe it to them for what they did for us.