When our newborn son was in the hospital fighting for his life, I wanted his doctor to be a super hero. Someone who could knock out infections with one fell swoop. Someone who could miraculously hook up his innards to make ‘em work. Most of all, someone who could take away my baby’s pain and assure us that everything would be okay. Doctors Are Human, Too In my youth and ignorance, I expected...

The fireworks and flags are long gone, but the holiday’s been on my mind ever since. Meet Chloe Downey The pre-occupation began with a post at Chloe Downy’s CaringBridge page. She’s a teenager who recently completed successful treatment for High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Though she’s pretty much done with doctors and hospitals, her mom often posts thoughtful...

In the first post in this series, you met the Carlson family and learned about Tara,their youngest daughter, and her three month hospital stay. In this post, Tara’s mom Kat talks about how Tara’s hospital experience changed her. Babies Should Never Be Alone The first night of Tara’s hospital stay, before the doctors knew how seriously ill the baby was, the PICU staff suggested Kat...

Most days, my google alert system is pretty ho-hum, because it only finds content with my key words in it when I put up a blog post. But once in awhile, google helps me find new friends and great new blogs. A Day in the Life of 4 Kids and a Dog Not too long ago, google introduced me to Mama Kat and her blog A Day in the Life of 4 Kids and a Dog. A mutual blog friend, Victoria Nelson, had recommended...

If you’re over forty, you may recognized the bearded doctor in the picture as the colorful surgeon general who served under Ronald Reagan. If you’re a little younger, you may remember him as the guy who tried to provide health information via the web in it’s early days and failed. But if you’re the parent of child with special medical, you should be exceedingly grateful to...

The previous post in this series relayed the story of Baby Sam Owens’ short life and described the gift bag ministry his family started in his memory. It even gave you a sneak peak at the custom-made bags they’ve chosen to use. What’s in Each Bag? Each bag will contain the following: A Pottery Barn Sleep Sheep A Swaddleme infant wrap with openings for tubes An isolette-sized fleece...

Now and then, the comments parents leave at www.DifferentDream.com remind me of the work of our redeeming God in the midst of our children’s struggles. The comments Joy Owens leaves are like that. Her messages led to emails and eventually a phone call where she shared the story of their precious baby boy. Meet Baby Sam Owens Little Sam was born on November 18, 2009. His parents, Kurt and Joy,...

Several previous posts have addressed the need for parents to advocate on behalf of their hospitalized children. But until now, none of those posts dealt specifically with issue of patient safety. Josie’s Story by Sorrel King The importance of patient safety is made painfully clear in Josie’s Story, Sorrel King’s heart-wrenching book about her daughter’s death. Eighteen month...

The previous post in this series introduced you to Justin and Victoria Nelson, proud parents of Moriah, age two. In this post, you’ll hear their answers to some questions about how Moriah’s medical saga has impacted them. How Has This Changed You? Justin: I learned to come to God and give him each day. Trust in God and constant reliance on who He is. That’s the only way to survive. Victoria:...

Every now and then, God flabbergasts me with his creative ways of bringing people together. Recently, he used modern cyberspace and an old-fashioned book to connect me with to delightful young parents. Moriah’s Mom and Dad I first learned about Moriah’s mom and dad, Victoria and Justin Nelson, by clicking on a google alert link to www.momentswithmoriah.com. A young mom I didn’t...