The NICU Sucker Punch
Intensive Care Unit. Those three words give pause to anyone who hears them in relation to the status of someone they know. It indicates a tightrope walk between life and death many times and it's seriousness is not over-stated. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Just one little word changes perception. Scary? Certainly. Teetering? Sometimes. Long-term? Often. Babies? So fragile but darling...can I touch, hold, visit? Stable? For weeks, even months. Sucker Punched? Yep, out of left field the world turns upside down quicker than you can say bradycardia. In the NICU we can get lulled into a status quo that makes those sudden turns breathtaking. It shouldn't be unexpected, it's an ICU after all. But somehow, when we do what we do well, we aren't prepared to have our skills fail us. We aren't braced for the hit. And the sucker-punch reality of the NICU hits again with a staggering blow. Stunned? Yes. Disbelief? For sure. What did I miss? Over an...