It's Been a Decade
Some memories are sharper than others… February 9th, 2014 was my 29th birthday and Nathan was in the middle of a 7 consecutive week run in the ICU, for most of which he was intubated. About 80% of his 4 months had been spent in hospitals and he had already undergone several surgeries of increasing intensity. This stay was, quite literally, a fight for his life and the questions about quality of life were (understandably and appropriately) met by Dr’s with vague answers, no promises and even uncomfortable and compassionate murmurs of “IF he makes it past 2….” That year, my birthday fell on a snowy Sunday. I remember waking that morning and staring blankly out of the ICU window into the thick, cold, grey, relentless snow of an Ohio February. The only thing more bleak was my heart as I called Jonny, cried and then let him go so that he could take care of Madison (not yet two) and then get to church…. It was, after all, a Sunday. I’m not sure how much time passed, but it could