Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Tiny miracles...

Sometimes, the loudest lessons are shouted from the silent fragile lungs of babies. One tiny little boy weighing around 1 pound, born 3 and a half months too early showed me the importance of calm strength and a will to live. He was born in a hotel bathroom when his parents were far away from home on vacation. A special helicopter flew the baby into the level III intensive care unit where I worked.

I still remember the phone call warning us to prepare for his arrival and soon after the helicopter landed with the extremely tiny child whose eyes were still fused shut, had translucent skin and could not breathe, so machines gave many tiny puffs in a vibrating motion to pump oxygen without expanding the underdeveloped lungs.

Soon the mother arrived to a room full of machines that were keeping her tiny baby alive and she burst into tears, but never left his side. She paced from crib side lullabies to the hospital chappel room until 6 months passed by and the tiny baby bloomed into a smiley big baby boy who defied all odds and was finishing baby bottles on his own.

When the baby was discharged home, the mother hugged me tight and gave me a brown and pink butterfly necklace that she made herself for me!

She never knew it, but I find a deep meaning in butterflies and hold them dear to me. Butterflies start as mere land-ridden insects and after a hidden phase, they transform themselves into beautiful creatures capable of graceful flights between flowers! In addition to my grandmother's wedding band, and my mother's earings, it is the only piece of jewelry I carry with me.

This baby shows that despite the extreme hurdles to jump, despite life's challenges, when everything seems impossible, we can bloom into a beautiful being and enjoy a good life…

Humans are very flexible beings capable of growth!

There's always potential to be developed.

Above all, there is always hope!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that must have been intense. I admire people who can do your work - it really takes a certain person, doesn't it.
Well after reading this, I've confirmed with myself that if anyone can move to Rome and be a success, it's you.
Do you ever get updates on the baby boy?

Roam2Rome said...

Ciao Tina,

Thanks yes, the mom calls me once in a while to say hello and let me know how he's doing. He's getting bigger and his future looks good, he did recently need surgery for a hernia which is a common problem in premature babies.

Other than that, he's a healthy boy which is amazing considering his tiny tiny birth weight :)

He just turned one year old! :)

Anonymous said...

Uau! che bella storia!
made tears jump from my eyes!
la vita è un miracolo....


bacini

Roam2Rome said...

Ciao Calabrisella!

Ma come va? :)

Eh! Infatti! la vita è un miracolo...

il maiale ubriaco said...

Ciao, è la prima volta che passo da queste parti.
Complimenti, davvero carino il tuo blog!

Roam2Rome said...

Ciao e grazie! ahm...come ti posso chiamare?? non farmi chiamarti mm..mm... meglio "Ste" o "Re" :)

Proprio adesso stavo organizando i miei blogs "Yummy in Italian" e poi appari tu, quindi, ci sei ormai :)

Benvenuto! e bravi! avete un bellissimo Blog