When I am able, I go out and run a few miles outdoors to keep myself healthy. Anne enjoys going on walks, to an occasional movie, and to a women s reading group. If we take care of ourselves, we will be better able to care for our children. Looking back, I now realize it was Jack s job to teach us these important lessons. After all, doctors at children s hospitals don t spend a lot of time with kids when they are well.
Parents do that.
Our children need parents who will view their disability and future with a sense of hope, whether life feels manageable at the time or not. Two years ago, when Jack s bout with RSV led to intubation and a three-week hospitalization, it was very hard for me to be positive and hopeful. But as I looked at my son lying in the intensive care unit, kept alive by a ventilator, his eyes wide open wondering what was happening to him, I believed it was important for Jack to see me smiling and to hear me telling stories as usual, giving him the message that I was hopeful and confident of his ability to recover from his illness. One early morning after Jack had been successfully extubated and we were preparing to go home, the head of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit passed by to wish us well. He talked about Jack s remarkable recovery, and he was obviously pleased to be a part of it.