Joshua and Becky

We made a couple of new friends yesterday - Joshua and
his mom Becky. Joshua had the same surgery that
Nanette will have and now he is camped out in the
less-intensive area of the NICU. Becky is staying
here at the Ronald McDonald House on the south side of
the hospital campus.

Unfortunately, little Joshua (who, by the way, is
adorable!) has been in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit) for two and a half months now. After his
surgery, a bit of his bowel became twisted and that
part died. It took another surgery to remove it, and
a couple more to get everything straightened out.
During all these procedures, the respirator tubes
triggered a gag reflex during a formative period, and
now he gags and vomits whenever he tries to take a
bottle or nipple. Poor guy can't eat. That's why he
is still there, hooked up to an IV of yellow nutrients
and a tube of white lipids. The intravenous Gatorade
and bacon fat diet. Yum.

Joshua's never been outside. Never known anything but
the little cubicle he shares with his mom in the NICU.
Never heard a car honk. Only the click of machines
and an occasional beep of a quiet alarm. And his
mom's voice. That's where he gets his strength.

NICU is quiet. The babies rarely cry. It remains
strangely silent there. Most are too sick. But not
Josh. He's a happy boy- likes to be talked to, likes
music and loves his mom.

Becky is a single mom, living alone in "the House,"
spending her days and probably some nights sitting in
a ten-by-ten cubicle with monitors, doctors, nurses
and an occasional visitor, like us. She heard about
Nanette and invited us to come back and meet Josh.
People are like that here.

NICU can be a scary place, but there's love there.
Lots of it. And healing, and life. And most
certainly, grace.