Nighttime Nursing and Maine

  We chose a nighttime nurse! Apparently she was quick so tell the agency that she wanted to work with us. And we were quick to say "yes" to her. She was the first one that I met with. This is still a whole new world to us. We have a lot to learn and a lot that we can't expect, we just have to experience. Inviting someone into our home to watch our kid while we sleep is an intimidating thing, but necessary and we know that God is over this. We really feel that God has intervened in each medical person who has joined Leo's team and we feel confident that He is allowing this as well. I don't mean to over-spiritualize it, but we are stepping out in faith. 

    Our nurse is an older woman, originally from Kenya, who has been in nighttime nursing for 10 years. She was easy for me to talk to. She asked questions about Leo's care. I felt comfortable expressing the care I desire for him. And the best part was how she interacted with Leo. She was making noises at him, getting him to laugh. She asked to hold him. She was pacing with him and helping him calm down when he was fussy. 

    Also, I didn't expect this, but I got news today that all of her clearances are done. So she is ready to work! However, she got called for jury duty. And we are moving! Well, we bought a house. We don't know our timeline right now. And we are not waiting on that for her to start, but it's a piece to figure out. I was afraid that the house might move us out of her area location wise (not sure how that works) but it turns out we're actually much closer to where she lives. God is good. 

    Please pray over our whole situation. Pray for our nurse, her soul, her family. Pray for our relationship with her, pray for me being able to hand over care to her, for her learning to care for Leo, and for Leo bringing a new person into his day to day. 

    We just got back from Maine and it was so good! Brad is from Maine and we hadn't been there in over 3 years. He was very happy to be back in his home state with family and his home church. In a different way, though, this trip was encouraging because of flying and flying with Leo. We haven't traveled much since covid hit and Leo was born. For those who don't know, before Leo, Brad and I thought we were headed to the mission field overseas eventually. Well, it seems like that's not in our foreseeable future. But we had had that expectation for a long time. I grew up traveling between Mexico and the US and Brad has been to several other countries. Since Leo was born, it's been easy to feel a little stuck sometimes. There's been a lot to surrender when it comes to traveling. I say all of that to say that going through security, getting on a plane, making connecting flights, and navigating airports was so cool to experience with Leo. It felt like a little sign from God saying "I got this." It doesn't mean we're going to be world travelers. It doesn't mean we're moving overseas. It means that God sees us and knows what we feel. It means that he didn't give us the wrong upbringings, passions, or desires. It means that we can assume that things are possible for Leo and adjust how they look for him. We don't have to simply say "no" to something seemingly big for Leo. It showed me that Leo doesn't hold us back. 

    And I don't mean to say that I think that my kid holds me back, but sometimes that's a struggle--a feeling. And I don't mean to say that now we are going to take Leo on a road trip down to Chile. That's clearly not smart. He does have limits. We all have limits. But I'm excited as I see more and more what life with Leo looks like. 

    Lastly, we are sick. I do believe we have covid. Well, I say we. Brad is sick. Leo is a bit sick. I feel good so far. It's a little daunting to come back from vacation having bought a house and get sick. I also really don't want to be sick and have to care for Leo. But I also want to get sick now if I'm going to get sick. The last time we got covid, Leo's g tube placement was postponed 3 times. This time, we have some appointments coming up that may need to get rescheduled, but I do not feel the urgency and stress that I did in January. I know I can give Leo what he needs even if we are home sick. God's got us ultimately. But we'd appreciate prayer as sickness goes through this household. Leo's stuffy which makes puking easy, but it's also wonderful to have the feeding tube because I can set it at a slow rate and he can get fed fairly well even while sick. It makes things a little less stressful. I know we are not the only ones getting covid right now.