Room to Love

Last Wednesday, Jeff and I were extended the privilege of attending the dedication and grand opening of the new NICU in the Children's Hospital at Saint Francis. We had every intention of taking the girls with us, but had to leave them at home when they woke that morning with fever and a cough. Earlier in October, we were honored to be invited for a private tour of the new unit (girls in tow that time) while being interviewed by the Tulsa World. At a loss for any other description, I call the new unit "NICU heaven". There really aren't words. I know from a medical professional's perspective, the new unit, spread over 30,000 square feet on the top floor of the new Children's Hospital, poses a myriad of obstacles and adjustments, but from a parent's perspective, the new unit is a dream. This unit boasts private rooms, with several big enough to accommodate multiples. For us, that would have meant Cadence and Madeline being together for the entire duration of their stay, rather than jumping around the old unit when beds/isolettes were available. There are windows in well over half of the rooms, allowing the comfort of natural light to creep in, something we saw only when we left the old unit. Each room has a couch of its very own, and even a rocking chair. In the old unit, parents had to "fight" over rockers for Kangaroo Care, while dodging bulky equipment like ventilators and portable X-ray machines. In the new unit, rooms are equipped with small fridges, cabinets, a sink, and mirror. I imagine what it would have been like to store breast milk for the girls in the fridge, their home-washed clothes in the cabinets, and having a sink and mirror to freshen up on occasion. There is even a curtain that can be pulled to close out the rest of the world in times of privacy like breastfeeding for the first time, which I did behind a make-shift screen in the middle of a very busy EOPC unit. The sheer amount of privacy possible is incomprehensible to me, when we spent 105 days doing our best to respect the privacy of other babies and their families around us.

I don't regret any moment or experience we had in the EOPC, good or bad. Those moments led us to where we are today and I wouldn't change that for the world. But, I can't help but think of how much different our experience would have been had we been visitors to the new, beautiful unit that rests five floors above the Saint Francis grounds. We certainly have no plans to be parents of patients in the new facility, but as strange as it sounds, I can't stop myself from being thrilled and optimistic for the families of the tiny patients that now inhabit the new EOPC. I can't ever say enough how impactful the staff at Saint Francis was and has been on our lives; the quality of the facility finally matches the quality of the staff. And, in an ideal world, no hospital would have need for a NICU, but if there are fragile and sick babies that come into this world, I can't think of a better place for them to be.