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| The room was huge, much bigger than the SCN at the hospital where Sydney had been born. We had to thoroughly wash our hands and put on a gown again. Kelsea had to have her temperature taken. Then, I was allowed to go to Sydney�s bed, Bed 5. Oh, how I had waited for this moment! What a precious sight. She was naked but did have the tiniest diaper I had ever seen underneath her bottom. She also had cloth sunglasses on. This was because she had jaundice and they were using lights to get her bilirubin level back down. The room was filled with the noise of machines keeping the little babies alive, breathing for them. Every once in a while I would her a beep and a nurse would run to the baby to see what was wrong. However, not much of this really registered with me. I was completely focused on Sydney. |
| Sydney's Story |
| She had an IV in her belly button, wires taped to her chest, a tube down her throat, an ID bracelet around her ankle, and something taped around her other ankle to measure her oxygen level. She also had a small tube in the left side of her head because she had gotten a blood transfusion that day. I gently stroked her forehead and said, "Hey, Sweetie. Mommy�s here. Mommy�s finally here. I missed you so much." The nurse smiled and said, "She knows you. She recognizes your voice." I asked her how she knew and she said she could tell from the change in Sydney�s stats when I talked. The nurse then told me she could turn off the lights and take off the sunglasses so I could see her face. I asked her to please do so.Once the glasses were off, I again began talking to Sydney. At the sound of my voice, her eyes moved back and forth. She was trying her best to find me, to focus on me. However, it was difficult since she was so sedated. At this time, Kelsea was allowed back to see her little sister for the first time. What a priceless memory. Kelsea grinned. Although she had seen Sydney�s picture and even had one of her own that she carried everywhere, this was their first meeting. "Baby Sydney" she said. Then she |
| told us that everyone had on pajamas except for Sydney. Daddy held Kelsea so she could have a better view of her little sister. Then, he very gently took her finger so she could touch Sydney�s hand. A look of pure joy covered her face. She didn�t care about all the tubes and wires. She finally had her baby sister. She had waited so long for her. Sydney reacted to each of us. It thrilled my soul that she knew who we were. No one could tell me differently. |
| While we were trying to visit with our daughter, we kept being interrupted. A chaplain came by and asked if we wanted to talk to him. Then a doctor came by and said he needed to speak with us. I asked if it could wait because I had just gotten there. He said there were some things we needed to know about Sydney�s condition. Brian explained that I had just gotten to see Sydney again and wanted to know if it could wait until the next day. Finally, they left. Brian talked to the nurse and asked her if we could have more privacy. She put up two white wicker screens around us. She also talked to the doctor and told him we could have a meeting the next day and asked the chaplain to leave us alone. |
| Kelsea began getting fussy since it was so late. She was taken back to our room by some of our family. However, I was not ready to leave yet. I wanted to spend all of my time with Sydney. Only three people were allowed back with Sydney at a time, so we had to take turns. However, everyone insisted I stay the whole time. We finally left around 11:00 or 11:30. I kissed my hand and placed it on Sydney and told her I would see her the next day. Brian had a pager loaned to us by UVA in case they needed to get in touch with us. I prayed it wouldn�t go off. |
| Wednesday, September 20, 2000 - The next morning I was excited to see Sydney again and got frustrated that it took me so long to do the simplest little things. We ate breakfast in our room and then went to the hospital. Again, we had to get a wheelchair and then wait for visitor passes. We decided we would go ahead and take Kelsea with us again and then she could go play in the children�s room. She rode on my lap in the "big stroller" as she called it. We pushed the button to open the doors and I strained to see Sydney. I could just see her bed and her feet. We went ahead and washed our hands and put on our gowns. One of the nurses stopped us and asked how old Kelsea was. We told her she would be three in November. Then she told us that she would not be allowed to see Sydney because she had to be three already. Brian and I argued with her, telling her she had been allowed last night. She said she would check with the doctor. After several minutes she returned and said it would be okay for Kelsea to go back. I�m sure they broke a few rules for us since they knew Sydney�s time with us would be too short. |
| As we had the night before, we took many pictures and video. We talked to Sydney and one of the nurses even brought out two books for me to read to Sydney because she had heard me reciting Dr. Seuss� The Foot Book from memory. That was the book we had read to Sydney and Kelsea while they were in my belly. I read the books the nurse brought and showed Sydney the pictures. She really seemed to enjoy them. Kelsea then decided she wanted to read them to her. I had never seen anything more precious. After talking to her sister and touching her hand again, Kelsea decided she was ready to play so our pastor and his wife took her to the playroom. Soon after Kelsea left, Dr. K came by and wanted to know if he could meet with us later that day. It was decided we would meet with him at 3:00 that afternoon. |
| 9/20/00 |