The Journey

I haven't written too often about the emotional side of things since Lincoln has been home. I did quite a bit of that while he was still in the NICU, but now just the occasional about something big (Like getting to room air!). Most of the time my posts are filled with medical facts and pictures of adorable Lincoln, but there hasn't been a lot about our family and how this whole CDH thing has changed us. As you can imagine, it has changed us. And the emotional roller coaster did NOT stop when Lincoln came home. While Lincoln was hospitalized, and during his dark ECMO days, people would say how unfazed I seemed by the stressful situation Dan and I were facing. Going through something that is life or death kind of leaves you stunned, and you start to express emotions and grief AFTER it is over. I cried, a lot, and had many crazy moments after Lincoln was home, to let it all out and really accept what had happened to our family, and what Lincoln had been through.

As you can see by the long list of blogs in the sidebar, I follow many other CDH families as they experience their own journey. I have done this from the beginning, ever since we were diagnosed, to help me find some direction. Now that we were well into our journey, I still find joy in following other families at various points in their own journey. It is really amazing to see there is such a variety of outcomes with CDH.

Some CDH moms are very expressive about the feelings they have. One of those moms is Corinne, mom to survivor Samuel. She is so articulate and great at sharing her thoughts. Her blog, Samuel's Light is a joy to read. Sometimes I can connect with the feelings she expresses about her son, and other times I just like to catch up on what Samuel is up to. Her latest post on Samuel's Light sums up a lot of emotions I have that I have neglected to blog about, due to my inability to organize my thoughts, put myself out there, bring other families into my blog...you name it. I wanted to share with you her words to help explain a little of what I have left out from my blog. I encourage you to read the other blogs as well, especially those still fighting as mentioned in Corinne's post, and keep them in your thoughts.