Lots of support

we are discovering, literally by the minute, that there is a temeddous amount of support for us around the hospital and that there are also a surprising number of families that are in a similar situation to Abby and I with an infant or child in the hospital for a long time, what I learned the other day are called NICU parents.

I've never quite understood what social workers do. I think that this is because I never really needed a lot of help. They were always the people who helped other people. But now that I need the help, I am coming to understand the great stuff that they do. we finally met with the hospital's social worker yesterday and she spent about an hour getting to know us and what we were all about and how we were handling things. I guess that it is my Yankee side that keeps me away from the 'touchy feely' kind of people, but this woman cut right through that and let us know that she was there for us and had a bunch of great things to help us cope during Ellie's treatment. She made it very clear that she is our advocate to get what we need so we can concentrate on our baby.

We just found out that there is a bed for us at the New Haven Ronald McDonald House, another one of those organizations that I had heard of but never quite understood. I will never look at a Big Mac the same way again. There is a bed for us, 2 blocks from the hospital, that is ours for as long as we need it. A shuttle will pick us up and drop us off at the hospital and we can park for free. It is almost as if someone said: what do parents of sick kids need to be near their kids? and then they did it. Abby will check out of the hospital Thursday afternoon and we will move over there. Humble accomodations but it will make things lots easier for us.

Go buy a Big Mac and fries with a good conscience today.