A Million Thank You's

Today marks 6 weeks since our sweet boy left us.  It's hard to believe that it has already been 6 weeks because that day's events are still so fresh in our minds.  Since being admitted to the hospital on April 22, John and I have been overwhelmed by the amount of support from the people in our lives.  I started a list of people that we would need to write thank you cards for, but that list got quickly put to the side and the amount of people that needed added to it was growing exponentially. And let's be honest, I've never been good at writing thank you notes.  So, please let this post and the thank you's that are about to follow serve as our thank you cards.  I'm not sure if everyone that we have to thank will even read this, but I know many will.  Words can really not express how thankful we are for everything that has been done for us in the last 12 weeks.

First of all, THANK YOU to our families.  You sat in hospital waiting rooms and on uncomfortable hospital benches.  You drove hundreds of miles to come visit us even if it was only for a few minutes.  You took care of our dogs, our house and went shopping for us when we couldn't/didn't want to leave the hospital.  You've been by our sides throughout this whole journey and you continue to be here for us as we try to navigate finding our new normal.  We couldn't have done this without you.

THANK YOU to Dr. Goodpasture for your quick action in getting me to Topeka when you noticed there was a major problem.  Without you, I don't even want to think about how things would have turned out.

THANK YOU to the EMTs who got me to Topeka quickly and safely.  It was my first ambulance ride and you made it as enjoyable as possible given the circumstances.

THANK YOU to all of the nurses who took care of me during my stay at Stormont-Vail.  You were all wonderful and did such a good job of staying positive and hopeful.

THANK YOU to Dr. Trobough and Dr. Dickson for taking care of me through two surgeries and recoveries.

Some of the most important THANK YOUs go to the staff at the Stormont-Vail NICU:

• THANK YOU to Holly, Terri and Roxie who greeted us with smiles every time we entered the NICU.  You put up with John's humor and wit and made us and all of our visitors feel welcome.
• THANK YOU to Janet, our nurse practitioner.  You were absolutely amazing.  Words cannot express how thankful we are for the care you provided for Rowan.  You explained things in ways that we could understand and you repeated things so that I could get everything written in my notebook.  You were encouraging when we needed it and you also provided realistic expectations when we were seeing things through rose-colored lenses.  You will always hold a special place in our hearts.  
• THANK YOU to all of Rowan's nurses: Carolyn, Monica, Suzy, Lucinda, Michelle, Mary Jo, Ashley, Caleb, Ashley B., Kim, Erin, Jamie, Brandy, Melissa, Alyssa, Bambi, Sonya, and Belinda.  You are all simply the best.  Not once did we ever worry about the care that you were giving our sweet boy.  You were positive and encouraging.  You took care of Rowan, but you also did a great job of taking care of John and I.  In the three weeks that we spent with you, you became family.  We will never be able to thank you enough for what you did for Rowan.
• THANK YOU to all of the other staff members that took care of Rowan in one way or another: Gail, Karen, Audrey, Elizabeth, all of the respiratory therapists and Rachel.  You were all a piece to the puzzle that helped Rowan survive as long as he did.
• Finally, THANK YOU to the neonatologists who took care of Rowan: Dr. Sidlinger, Dr. Morgan, Dr. Doyle, and Dr. Navarro.  Without you guys, we would not have had the 36 days that we had with Rowan.  Your knowledge of everything that goes right and everything that goes wrong in these tiny miracles is amazing.  Thank you.

THANK YOU to the doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists at Children's Mercy.  I don't feel like we got to know you as well as we did the staff at Stormont, but thank you for everything that you did for Rowan.  You saw took care of him on some of his best days and also some of his worst.  You listened to our opinions and took the very best care of our baby.  Thank you for taking care of him all the way until the end.

THANK YOU to all of our friends.  You came to visit us and made us laugh when we needed it the most.  You got us out of the hospital for much needed breaks.  Your text messages, emails, and messages through social media always came at the most needed times.  We are so lucky to have you all in our life. 

THANK YOU to our church family.  We are so blessed to have found all of you.  Losing Hope led us to Wamego First United Methodist Church and we really feel like we have the best church family there is.  Thank you for the cards, prayers and support.  

THANK YOU to all of our co-workers.  You all stepped up in tremendous ways to keep my classroom and John's job site running well.  You took the stress of our jobs out of the picture so that we could focus on Rowan.  Thank you for being wonderful co-workers and even better friends.

THANK YOU to anyone who donated to Rowan's medical fund and/or memorial fund.  Asking for help does not come easily for John or I and we were blown away by your generosity.  

THANK YOU for all of the cards and gifts that were sent to us.  I tried to keep track of each card that was sent to that I could thank you all individually, but we got hundreds of cards and it was so overwhelming in the most wonderful way.  We have kept each card and they will go into the tote with all of Rowan's things.  

THANK YOU to anyone who brought us a meal.  I didn't realize how helpful all of those would end up being.  Each meal was delicious and very much appreciated.

THANK YOU to the families that were kind enough to say hi to us in the hallways of the NICU.  You have since become close friends and we love hearing about your sweet babies and all of their progress.  We can't wait until you get to bring them home and we can come snuggle with them. :)

THANK YOU to everyone who shared Rowan's story.  This blog helped me (and continues to help me) in ways that I never could have imagined.  Something about knowing that Rowan's story was touching people from all over the country always put a smile on my face.  

THANK YOU to all of the mamas who have also experienced loss for sharing your stories with me.  I hate that we all have this thing in common, but it is so comforting to know that we aren't alone.  I've never even met many of you, but you are in my thoughts frequently.  

THANK YOU to anyone who ever said a prayer or sent a positive thought for our family.  I have no doubt in my mind that Rowan would not have done as well as he did for as long as he did without you.  

And finally, THANK YOU to my sweet baby boy, Rowan.  You taught us how to love unconditionally.  Hope made us parents, but you made us a mommy and a daddy.  You taught us to be hopeful and how to never give up.  You put things into perspective and you touched so many lives in your short time here on earth.  I will forever be thankful for every minute that I got to spend with you. 

God has blessed us tremendously by putting so many wonderful people in our lives.  Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.