Abe met his baby brother for the first time just a few hours after he was born. We entered the NICU, Abe clutching a huge green stuffed frog under his right arm -- his gift for Oscar. Dr. Sandhu, the neonatologist, was examining Oscar, checking his muscle tone. He held one of Oscar's arms at the elbow, let go of his fingers, and shook his forearm. Instead of staying tightly curled in a fist, Oscar's fingers and wrist flopped limply back and forth. I stood there, paralyzed, panicking, not knowing what any of this meant.
Abe saw something different. "Look Mom, the baby's waving at me!" he said.
Dr. Sandhu heard us then, and smiling, he waved Oscar's hand once more, making Abe giggle.
Even then I understood the importance of this gesture. Even then I knew that Dr. Sandhu saw that Abe's relationship with Oscar trumped the need to figure out what was causing Oscar's symptoms. Even then I recognized that we became a family in that moment.
Here are a few of my favorite early photos of Abe and Oscar.
(I can't believe I let a two year old feed Oscar. His suck/swallow wasn't coordinated and he could have choked. Yikes.)
"Even then I knew that Dr. Sandhu saw that Abe's relationship with Oscar trumped the need to figure out what was causing Oscar's symptoms. Even then I recognized that we became a family in that moment." So much in that little moment, that little gesture—wow.
ReplyDelete(I am catching up on May, but always nice to see you have something new here.)
Thank you Sara! And yes, a small gesture with enormous impact. I will never forget it.
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