The PICU

As Nathan recovered from heart surgery, he was kept in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) so that he could get the attentive care that he required.

The PICU was an entirely different experience for us than the NICU.  And one that we weren't entirely too fond of either.

Up until the day of heart surgery, Nathan had basically spent his entire life (nearly 2 months) in the same room in the NICU.  We had spent so much time there, especially Bekah, who faithfully went to the hospital every day, that the NICU  kind of became our second home.  And a few of Nathan's nurses and a good number of the hospital staff became very good friends.

Everything about the PICU was new.  And we didn't know anyone there.  We missed our friends.  We missed the comfort of familiar surroundings. 

But without a doubt, the thing that made the PICU the most foreign and unsettling was the fact that it was full of sick kids.  In all the time we had been in the hospital, we had only ever really seen sick babies.  Now we were in the same Unit as sick kids -- kids who were 5, 6, 7 years old and older.  Teenagers.  Kids who had gone to school.  Kids who had played with their parents or siblings.  Kids that knew what life was actually supposed to be like.  It was very depressing.

We really longed to be back in the NICU and hoped that our stay in the PICU would be short.