Seeing this little man now, you would never guess how scary those first few days of his life were for us. Some of you, in fact, might not even know Caden's story: he was born with a serious congenital heart defect and had major open heart surgery at five days old. Sometimes the imagining of him in the hospital seems nothing but a distant dream. But we can still remember, and we must. And so we raise an ebeneezer to remind ourselves, and the world, of the ways that the Lord walked through our darkest nights. And we remember too the space for grace that we found in the CICU at Egleston. The amazing doctors and nurses who fought for and with Caden, and all of the people (including y'all!) who sent encouragement and prayers and loved us so well in real and tangible ways.
That's why, even though life gets fabulously busy and normal, we still plan to deliver baskets to the CICU at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta this holiday season (a tradition we began two years ago). Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend and fellow heart mama who offered to help coordinate and get things together.
A quick list of things we have included in the baskets in the past:
- Nice journals and pens (so parents can write, journal how they're feeling, write down medical details, questions for the doctors etc).
- Gum, mints (you dont always want to leave your baby's bedside to go brush your teeth, but also want to talk to the drs and nurses without scaring them) . . .- Small packets of tissue
- Water bottles
- Packaged snacks (granola bars, crackers etc) or homemade goodies
- Gift cards (there are several restaurants etc nearby: starbucks, chickfila, panera bread, doc chey's, and Domino's are neaby chains, and there are also some local places right near the hospital - rise and dine, Bad dog taqueria . . .)
- Gas cards (you drive back and forth a lot!)
- Travel-sized things of shampoo, body wash, lotion, etc.
- Hand lotion (you wash your hands constantly so they get super-dry)
- Small things of laundry detergent (if you stay overnight at the hospital, it's nice to be able to do your laundry)
-Antibacterial gel (you have to be extra careful about germs!)
If you want to contribute to the baskets, either with specific items or monetary donations towards the baskets, we would love to have your help. You can email me at Becca1612 at hotmail.com - or just leave a comment here and I'll get in touch!
When we deliver the baskets, we always tell them they are from our community of family and friends and even strangers who want to remember and care for the least of these. And we are honored and overjoyed to love and walk alongside families who have to spend Christmas in the CICU with their sick babies and children.