National Nurses Week 2018

It’s National Nurses Week, and boy do we have some nurses to be grateful for. My mom is a nurse, my dad was a nurse (well, I guess technically he still is though he is now on the administrative side), my brother is a nurse, and holy buckets we have some very special friends who are nurses and have greatly impacted our lives recently (once again).

While I plan to share our Marley Reese’s complete birth story on the blog here at some point, I do want to share pieces of it today.

We had some beautiful souls with us on the day of Marley Reese’s birth (just one week ago today); some of whom have walked with us for the past three years. These amazing people wanted Marley’s birthday to be the sweetest day for us. They wanted joy for us just about as much as we did. These nurses went out of their way for us to have the most special day. Since November (when our c-section was scheduled), they had planned to join us for our sweet third baby’s birthday. They checked in through our pregnancy and anticipated the day with us. They listened to my anxious thoughts and reassured me we’d make it to May 3^rd.

On the day of Marley’s birth, they prepped me and walked me to the OR. They held me while receiving my spinal. They captured some incredibly special moments on camera for us. And, the man who beat our son’s heart for 18 minutes before the Holy Spirit breathed life into him, held my hand in the minutes before my husband was allowed into the OR. Grateful, grateful, grateful is what we are.

These people rejoiced in hearing our daughter’s cries, they were the first to hold her and ensure she was okay. They showered us all with love, they brought gifts for all THREE of our sweet babies. Once again, they lived and breathed some incredibly precious moments of our life with us.

To all of the nurses out there, thank you for doing your job. Thank you for your love, compassion, and grace. Thank you for going above and beyond your “job descriptions” every single day. Nickie, Emily, and Dale, from the bottoms of our hearts, thank you for sharing our children’s birthdays with us. You mean so much to our family. Thank you for gifting us our most precious memories.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kylie Ryann!

Happy 3^rd birthday in heaven, our sweet Kylie Ryann. Three years ago today, we held you in our arms. We kissed you; our tears dripped onto your tiny 7.4 oz. body; we examined every inch of you. We love you so much, our sweet girl. As I write this, I cry tears for you. I cry tears over the memory of our first pregnancy, over feeling you move within my womb, over learning of your passing, over your delivery, over the short time that your daddy and I spent holding you. You, dear sweet girl, made me a mommy, and I am eternally grateful for your life.

As your third birthday is upon us, I wonder what you’d be like. I wonder how long your hair would be. I wonder what you’d think of your brother. I wonder if you’d like dresses or if you’d prefer to always wear pants and shorts. I wonder if you’d like soccer or dolls or riding bikes (or all of it).

I still shed tears over you, our daughter, but this year, I have found so much joy and peace in your short life and the fact that I will one day meet you in heaven. You, our girl, are still impacting so many here on earth. This year, Mommy and a friend started regularly meeting with a group of women who have lost babies and for those who are walking the journey of infertility. Three years after your birth, I see that God is still writing your story. He’s still revealing your purpose. Your life is glorifying our Heavenly Father. Kylie Ryann, you are one special girl, and we are eternally grateful for your life.

With Love,

Your Mommy and Daddy

On Kylie’s birthday, we deliver some sweet treats to the Labor and Delivery Unit where she was born. This year, I’d like to share the note that will accompany our treats. These nurses have had an astounding impact on our lives.

Nurses of Fairview Ridges OB Unit,

Today is Kylie Ryann Byer’s 3^rd birthday in heaven. Today, our family honors her life by thanking you, dear nurses. 3 years ago on this day, we experienced one of the most difficult days of our lives. Because of you, we also experienced one of the most memorable and holy days of our life. It was a sacred day. It was one in which we felt the ever present power of the Holy Spirit in a way that has only been matched on the day of Kylie’s brother’s birth. The Holy Spirit worked through YOU, nurses. I have written this to you on her past two birthdays, but the respect, love, and care we received on the birthday of our angel daughter was unbelievable. Thank you. Thank you for coming to this job each day and giving your best. We understand how difficult it is to walk with families through the hardest days of their lives. We’ve seen you cry with us, laugh with us, pray with us, and love us. What you do is so much more than a job. It’s a vocation. It’s a way to serve God’s greater purpose for you. 

You go home at night after a day like April 30, 2015, and you are tired, weary, and emotionally drained. You see your spouses, your dogs, your kids; you take care of so many other people. Yet, you serve your patients with such kindness and love. You help them walk along journeys no one would choose. Thank you for taking on this burden. Thank you for caring for our family with such love, grace, and compassion.

We think of you all so often. We pray for you. You have all made such an impact on our life. The days we have spent inside the walls of your 4^th floor are the holiest days we’ve ever experienced. You have shared those days with us. They are the days in which our good God has revealed himself and His power to us in ways that are not even describable. He has revealed Himself through you. Thank you, labor and delivery nurses. We are so grateful for you.

Jen, Nickie, and Sara, you will always hold a special place in our hearts. Thank you for serving our family the way you did on April 30, 2015. You have left a lasting impact on our hearts.

As you enjoy a treat from our family, please take a moment to think of our sweet Kylie Ryann in heaven. We would be so grateful.

With Love,

The Byers

(Patrick, Ericka, and Beckett)

Beckett Mason Byer is one. Our baby is one.

Beckett Mason Byer is one. Our baby is one.

Tears stream and stream and stream as I write this. Tears of gratefulness, tears of joy, tears because I’m undeserving, tears for the memories, tears for God’s mercy, tears for God’s compassion, tears for God’s unending love.

It is never, ever lost on me that our son is a miracle. The fact that we get to raise him; it’s a gift. It is because God intervened that Beckett Mason is here with us today. It is because God protected him that he is developmentally absolutely normal. It is because God managed every moment, every decision, every medical professional on November 12, 2016 and in the days after. He heard every cry, every scream, every prayer we prayed that night. I continue to pray the same prayer over Beckett that I screamed to God as we rolled into the OR that night. “Lord, please protect our son.” Such a simple prayer, yet those words are the most powerful words I’ve ever spoken. In the hours before I could be transferred to be with Beckett, the Holy Spirit continually reminded me, “God is good all the time. All the time He is good.” Over and over, these words played in my head. The presence of God was tangible on the night of Beckett’s birth and in our days spent in the NICU.

We were just back at the University of Minnesota for a one-year checkup for Beckett with our neonatal physician. Beckett also underwent a developmental assessment with the team. He is completely on track developmentally. Praise our good God. We were told that they have never assessed a child who’s APGAR score at birth was a 0, much less one who’s APGAR score was 0 and assessed as a completely normal 12 month old. When specialists in the medical field look at you and tell you that there is no medical explanation for Beckett’s case and that he truly is a miracle, it is utterly overwhelming.

Why do I share this? To glorify our good God. He is good. All the time, He is good. Through the valleys, He is good. In the best of times, He is good. He is faithful. He loves us. He is compassionate. He is merciful.

Psalm 145:10-12 – “All your works praise you, Lord; your faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your MIGHT, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.”

Today, we celebrate our birthday boy, and we praise our good God for the biggest blessing in our life, Beckett Mason Byer.

Beckett Mason's First Days of Life:

Our Big One Year Old (photography credit goes to Antonia Kay Photography (http://antonia-balliet.squarespace.com)):

A Letter to NICU Nurses

NICU nurses… I’m almost speechless as I reflect on my gratefulness for men and women like you. The emotional weight of your job overwhelms me. You see some truly miraculous things, but you also see devastatingly hard things. You nourish and care for teeny tiny babies for months until they can go home. You give your blood, sweat, and tears for your patients and their families to give them one more day, one more hour, a few more minutes. I saw you running through the halls of the NICU, I saw you work hours past the time your shift had ended, I saw you rush off on a transport call to save another baby just like you did mine, I saw you leaning against the hallway wall because it had just been a really tough week for you. While my entire world was wrapped up within the 4 walls of that NICU for 11 days, you acted like yours did as well… but then you went home to care for your own babies.

NICU nurses, you literally kept my baby alive. I handed over his life to you from the moment he entered this world. You did what I could not do. You saved my baby. Then, you nurtured him until I could do so on my own.

Then, there’s us; the man and woman that stand next to the bed of the baby you are giving your all to. We are new parents. We are devastated. We are lost. We are scared. We are worried. Our world is laying on that tiny bed, hooked up to what seems like a million machines. We are on auto-pilot, doing the next thing we are supposed to do. You, amazing nurses of the NICU, give us hope, you give us peace, you give us comfort. You come along-side families like ours and bless us with your care for our babies. You bless us with reassurance. You bless us with hope. We are incredibly grateful for you.

Nurse R, 

We will be forever grateful for you. You are a seasoned nurse. You are a realistic optimist. You called out the good things you were seeing, but you didn’t give us false hope. You were perfect. All of our nurses were wonderful, but Nurse R, we waited for you to come on shift. When you walked into the nursery, my heart felt at rest, my nerves eased, I breathed a sigh of relief. We know you have worked in the NICU for a very long time and because of that, we could see your amazing instincts. The way you loved our boy was stunning. You fought for him; you fought for us. You loved on us, and when it came time for us to walk out of the four walls of the NICU, you celebrated with us. You walked with us to our car. You waved at our family as we drove away with our son to live the life you helped to give us. There are not words to thank you for what you did for our family.