A Few Rounds of Thanks Yous

As we ended recounting our stay in the NICU and before we move on, we decided that it would be a great idea to extend a few rounds of very appreciate Thank Yous to those who helped us through our NICU experience.

First, to the wonderful doctors who cared for Nathan.  In particular, Dr. Yoder, Dr. Beachy, Dr. Coulter, Dr. Scaife, and Dr. Riva-Cambrin.  Thank you for all of your medical knowledge and all you did to help save Nathan's life and help him progress to the point that we were able to finally bring him home.

Second, to the amazing nurses, especially Ashlee, Bonnie, and Jan.  Thank you for watching over our son, day in and day out.  Thank you for taking care of him when we couldn't be there even those times when we could.

Ashlee, thank you for loving our boy so much and for being a great friend to Bekah every time you were on with Nathan.

Bonnie, thank you for being so proactive in Nathan's care.

And Jan, thank you for being there every Sunday night and letting us talk your ear off each week.  Thank you for letting us feel like we were a part of your family.

Next, thank you to the Social Workers and the Parent Coordinator: Shawnee, Shelley, Annette, and Kathy.  You guys are wonderful!  Thank you for all of the great Parent Hours.  We learned a lot.  We appreciate your friendship.  

In addition, another thank you to Piper and the other NICU graduate parents.  Thank you for showing us life after the NICU!

Another thank you to Barb, Nathan's physical therapist.  Thank you for teaching us how to do exercises with Nathan and how to help him try to adapt to new things.  In a word, you are WONDERFUL!

From the bottom most special places in our hearts, we want to thank all those who came to the NICU to visit Nathan (and us) while he was there:

Family                                                                        Friends

Grandma R.                                                                 Amy
Grandma and Grandpa H.                                     Sharon & Russ
Aunt Sarah Beth                                                        Janessa & Beau
Aunt Mimi                                                                   Christine H.
Aunt Katie                                                                   Jim B.
Aunt Esther & Uncle Jared                                   Katie W.
Aunt Hannah                                                               John M.
Aunt Barbara                                                              Leslie J.
Uncle Jack                                                                

Becky & Casey, thank you to you two as well.  The intent was there!  Not your fault Nathan had a bad day that day.

Another thank you to all those members of our local congregation who brought us dinners for the first many weeks Nathan was in the NICU.  It was really, really nice to get home and not have to worry about making or finding something for dinner.  While there are too many of you to name one-by-one, we want to say a very special thank you to all those who weren't bothered by the fact that our schedule was so wacky or that we usually got home between 7:30 and 8pm every night (hopefully you know who you are!).

And lastly, Thomas wants to thank his supervisors and friends at work.  Brad and Garred, thank you for facilitating my having such a flexible schedule, especially during this time.  My co-workers, Brittney, Heather, Melissa, and Janessa.  Thank you for being so understanding and compassionate when my schedule was so not normal and you had to cover for me a lot.  We really appreciate it.

And while I'm at it, thank you to my employer and those who run the company.  You are a great company to work for.  You certainly helped make our life a lot less worrisome during this time.  I am proud to say that I work at 1-800 CONTACTS.