This is a longer message and deals with a situation that happened during Tommy’s third day. It deals with me and how I processed everything when Tommy was born and doesn’t include any news about Tommy. Due to length, emotional nature and the usage of minor vulgarity, I decided to make it opt-in.
Back on October 12, 2013, I wrote:
Something happened last night and this morning that, well, just decimated me emotionally. I hadn’t really felt the whole impact of what has happened, which I thought was weird. Two things happened to open the floodgates and I’ll compose a note as to what happened and why it was significant, but I need more time. It’s important I share it if only to demonstrate how God sometimes works. If you don’t believe in God or a higher power, think of it as the universe realigning things or brain chemistry ensuring someone remains emotionally healthy.
The Unit Mate
Joshua was much sicker than David. Back in 1987, the NICU was one large room, which meant you learned about the babies next to you. David’s mate was Joshua and his parents were John and Dacia Reinke. John was studying to be a minister and Dacia was very talkative. They were a little older than us, but not by much, and we became friends. Attending support meetings together, lunches and even borrowing their new fangled camcorder technology to video us holding David, our lives moved closer. When medical tests would happen it seemed like Joshua always had something wrong, while David passed with flying colors. Intrinsically, you know it’s wrong to look upon other’s misfortunes and compare, but I remember thinking, “David isn’t the sickest baby.”